‘No one in cost’ of social care as governments branded ‘asleep on the wheel’
Baroness Louise Casey will sound the alarm over the state of the social care system in a speech on Wednesday as part of a major review into the crisis-hit sector
The social care system is ‘fundamentally fragmented’ – with no one in overall charge(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Successive governments have been “asleep at the wheel” on social care, leading to a “fundamentally fragmented system” with no one in charge, Baroness Casey will say today.
The Whitehall trouble-shooter has been tasked with a coming up with plans for a sweeping overhaul of the crisis-hit sector by next summer, which will shape Andy Burnham’s vision for a National Care Service. New research commissioned by her team laid bare the chaos in the system, which is dominated by private providers in a “largely uncontrolled and unintended way”.
Two people with the same condition often have different experiences depending on where they live – including different assessment processes, waits, and levels of support. People paying for their own care are being charged, on average, 40 per cent more for the same service than people for whom care is arranged by their council, the report found.
And while more than 1.5 million social care staff work across around 19,000 employers, England is the only one of the UK nations without a mandatory register of care workers.
Baroness Casey has also written to the Covid Inquiry, branding its findings a cause of national shame. It comes after the official probe found Government failures allowed Covid to spread like wildfire in care homes and rejected the then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s claim that a “protective ring” had been thrown around the sector.
Speaking at the National Children and Adult Services Conference, she is expected to say: “The Covid-19 Inquiry took apart the argument that a “protective ring” had been thrown around care homes during the pandemic.
“Many old people died without their loved ones by their side. Many care workers left their jobs after what they had seen. It is a national shame that this was allowed to happen. It should never happen again.
“Successive governments have been asleep at the wheel. In research we’re publishing today the lack of ‘stewardship’ of social care comes through clearly. No one is in charge.
“Together, we can build a new settlement for care. One based on values I still believe this country shares: decency, contribution, and a duty to care for our neighbours, our loved ones and ourselves.”
The Prime Minister has said he will fight the next election on radical plans for a social care system that is free at the point of use. His determination has been fuelled by the experience his dad Roy, who died in a care home in September aged 86 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr Burnham said he would scrap the pensions triple lock after the next election to fund a universal service. The PM has said he wants to shield people from personal care costs, and stop pensioners from being forced to sell their homes to fund their care.
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use. People with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council.
