Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
1
Conclusion
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on adult social care. People have received less care and often care workers have been compelled to deliver only the basics. More people are going without care and many people’s needs are increasing significantly. Social care workers and unpaid carers are burnt …
Government response. The government states that throughout the pandemic they made available over £2.9 billion in specific COVID-19 funding to support the adult social care sector.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The Government provided vital additional funding to the adult social care sector during the pandemic, and we appreciate that the additional covid-19 funding cannot continue indefinitely. However, the Government’s own guidance that care workers should self-isolate if they test positive for covid-19 indicates that the risk to the sector is …
Government response. The government states that at the Autumn Statement 2022 it made up to £7.5 billion of additional funding available over two years to support adult social care and discharge.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
3
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The Government is focused on long-term reform of adult social care, but in order to get to the future it needs to save the sector from the brink of collapse. Covid-19 has highlighted the underlying structural challenges of rising demand, unmet need, and difficulties recruiting and retaining staff, and has …
Government response. The government is making available more funding for adult social care through general taxation and increased Council Tax flexibilities, with up to £7.5 billion of additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
5
Conclusion
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The covid-19 pandemic had the effect of raising public awareness of adult social care. It also achieved general support for a tax increase specifically to plug the long- standing funding gap. However, the Government has missed this opportunity. It has done so firstly by allocating the vast majority of the …
Government response. The government states that the savings from delaying the implementation of charging reform are being retained in local authority budgets to help them meet the current pressures in social care, with additional funding being provided.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
10
Conclusion
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
While the changed timetable for rolling out Section 18(3) will help to stagger the additional assessments local authorities will need to conduct, we are nevertheless concerned about local authorities’ capacity to conduct tens of thousands of additional assessments, particularly given the size of the backlog that already exists. We are …
Government response. The government states it is committed to addressing the pressures facing social care and continues to provide significant additional grant funding to councils.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
15
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
We recognise the benefits of raising a proportion of funding for adult social care locally. As we have argued in previous reports, we support greater fiscal devolution. In finding the right balance of funding sources for adult social care, however, we are concerned by the increasing reliance on locally raised …
Government response. The government states that overall funding for health and social care will be maintained at the same level as if the Levy was in place, and that savings from delaying implementation of charging reform will be distributed via the existing …
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
16
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
One-year funding settlements and short-term grants are hampering local authorities’ ability to plan and to deliver value for money, which in turn affects local care markets as it makes it more difficult for local authorities to enter longer term contracts with providers. The Government must provide a multi-year funding settlement …
Government response. The government states that in developing the People at the Heart of Care white paper, it engaged extensively with other government departments, and has worked closely with colleagues across government since the white paper publication to produce the recently published …
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
18
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The Department for Health and Social Care is drip-feeding numerous policy changes in adult social care, many of which are welcome, but many of which will have a significant impact on local authorities in terms of their spending and capacity. These include the cap and new means test, commencing Section …
Government response. The government states that National Planning Policy already makes clear that local authorities must plan for a range of housing needs, including the needs of older and disabled people, and that they do not intend to introduce statutory requirements at …
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
26
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The Minister for Care and Mental Health asserted that the chapter on the workforce in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper is the Government’s social care workforce strategy, but the number of further calls for a social care workforce strategy that have been made since the White …
Government response. The government agrees that ensuring there is holistic care that fits around people’s needs includes ensuring that people receive the right care and support, and can maintain healthy independent living, beginning with where they live, and the people they live …
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
27
Conclusion
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
We heard repeatedly that an absolutely critical lever for stabilising the adult social care market was tackling staff shortages and low retention. This would widen access to care and help to give unpaid carers a much-needed break. There is also the very real risk that the Government’s charging reforms do …
Government response. The government welcomes the committee’s interest in shared care records and notes its Digital Health and Care Plan sets out that health and care professionals will have access to a comprehensive view of a person’s health record by April 2025.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
28
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
We welcome the addition of care workers, care assistants and domiciliary care workers to the Shortage Occupation List, acknowledging that these roles are in short supply within the UK resident labour market. The Government should monitor the impact of adding care workers to the Shortage Occupation List on vacancies and …
Government response. The government outlines existing funding allocated to support timely and safe discharge from hospitals through social care and reablement services, and integrated care boards commissioning step-down bed-based capacity.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
30
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
The Government claims “the money is there” to support carers’ breaks, but the evidence we received is that not enough carers are getting a break. There are many carers who have not had a break since the start of the pandemic. Providing intimate care, under pressure, for such a prolonged …
Government response. The government claims to already support carers through the Care Act 2014, the Better Care Fund, and an investment of up to £25 million for unpaid carers, stating the 2023-25 BCF framework will improve spend clarity.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
33
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
We welcome the Joining up Care for People, Places and Populations White Paper and commend the Government for making the integration of health and social care a policy priority. We particularly welcome the Government’s ambitions around shared outcomes, workforce integration, and ensuring every citizen has a shared care record by …
Government response. The government states that much of the activity to integrate care should be driven by collaboration between commissioners and providers within integrated care systems (ICS) and will continue to work with place-based partnerships as they develop collaborative arrangements, including reviewing …
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
35
Recommendation
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
Barriers to data-sharing between health and social care have been a long-standing challenge, so we particularly welcome the Government’s ambition to have shared care records for all citizens by 2024. It is vital that this ambition becomes a reality. 80 Long-term funding of adult social care The Government should set …
Government response. The government claims to be addressing this already through the Digital Health and Care Plan, funding for integrated care systems to acquire shared record systems, and supporting local systems to develop care planning systems, including patient and carer input.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
36
Conclusion
Second Report - Long-term funding of ad…
Accepted
We are not reassured by the Director General for Adult Social Care’s comments that some places have found ways to continue discharge to assess funding from their own funding streams, not least by her admission that these workarounds are only short-term and only “for the bits of it they think …
Government response. The government acknowledges the positive impact of Discharge to Assess funding, stating they allocated £500 million in 2022-23 and provided £200 million to integrated care boards, and are providing £1.6 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government