Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 40
We do not wish to pit the NHS and adult social care against one another.
Conclusion
We do not wish to pit the NHS and adult social care against one another. The two systems are interdependent and each needs to be adequately funded to reduce pressure on the other. Wherever the money comes from—from allocating a higher proportion of levy proceeds to social care, or from central government grants—the Government urgently needs to allocate more funding to adult social care in the order of several billions each year, at least £7 billion.
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the committee’s concerns around the impact of charging reforms on social care assessors and will work with IT suppliers and local authorities, supporting local areas to trial and invest in innovative approaches to reforming operating models and to improving the recruitment and training of the adult social care workforce.
Paragraph Reference:
40
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government recognises the committee’s concerns around the impact of charging reforms on social care assessors. As set out above, we listened to the concerns of local government and took the difficult decision to delay the planned adult social care charging reforms. Local authorities made significant progress in preparing for charging reforms – transforming and innovating the way they carry out assessments to meet expected demand. We are grateful to the six charging reform Trailblazers, who provided valuable learning and insights to shape the government’s approach to implementation. We have formally closed the programme of work that was designed to implement charging reform in October 2023. The Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services are currently working on a document to capture key learnings from this programme that we intend to share with other local authorities soon. We want to use the additional time to continue working with local authorities on these approaches, to improve adult social care services for those who use them now, as well as to ensure the system is more prepared to implement charging reform successfully. To achieve this goal, we will work with IT suppliers and local authorities, supporting local areas to trial and invest in innovative approaches to reforming operating models and to improving the recruitment and training of the adult social care workforce. As part of this, we will also share best practice examples and explore how successful approaches can be scaled up. This activity will enable local authorities to drive efficiencies and improve their responsiveness by decreasing waiting lists, further tailoring care to people who draw on it, and will pave the way for charging reform implementation. Government response 13 Conclusion 11 – publishing an evaluation of the Trailblazer scheme and charging reform