Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 26
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction
Published 5 May 2025
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Adult Social Care Reform: The Cost of Inaction All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Government produce a growth strategy for the adult social care sector, including a focus on its potential to drive regional growth. This should be informed by a detailed study of how to improve productivity in the adult social care sector, which we recommend the Casey Commission carries out as part of its first phase. The growth strategy should also be accompanied by a joint announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Treasury, telling a positive story about adult social care: what it can do for individuals who draw on its support and their families, and also what it can contribute to the rest of society and the economy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 131)
From: Health and Social Care Committee, 2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction (HC 368), 5 May 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 July 2025 (deadline 5 July 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government shares the committee's view that adult social care is under significant pressure and needs reform, responds to each recommendation, and says it does not accept some, including a new cross-government impact assessment, while referring others to the independent commission led by Baroness Casey.
- On unmet need, the government says it would be "challenging to publish an annual assessment of the level of unmet care needs", citing limitations in existing data and the complexity of defining care needs.
- It says it "does not, therefore, accept" the recommendation for a new cross-government impact assessment on workforce policy changes, preferring existing impact assessment procedures. It also does not intend to commission a dedicated study of the cost of inaction, and does not think a separate growth strategy for the sector is "proportionate or necessary".
- On the Fair Pay Agreement, it will "begin the Fair Pay Agreement consultation this year", with secondary legislation and the negotiating body to follow in 2026. It is committed to establishing the first agreement within this Parliament.
- It agrees that publishing delayed discharge cost estimates would "in principle" improve transparency, and will "explore how best to publish cost data" with caveats. It will set out the Better Care Fund approach for 2026 and beyond "in due course".