The Government has announced a new Independent Commission and a series of reforms for adult social care including:
- A new independent commission on adult social care led by Baroness Louise Casey, expected to start in April 2025 with the aim of 'working with people drawing on care and support, families, staff, politicians and the public, private and third sector to make clear recommendations for how to rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population'. The first phase will report back in 2026 to identify the critical issues facing adult social care and set out recommendations for effective reform and improvement in the medium term. The second phase will report back in 2028 making longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care.
- An £86m boost to the Disabled Facilities Grant for this financial year. This is on top of the £86m announced for next financial year at the Budget, taking the annual total to £711m allowing '7,800 more disabled and elderly people to make vital improvements to their home'.
- Harnessing the power of care technology to 'transform care and support for older people to live at home for longer, cutting red tape to ensure billions of joint NHS and social care funding is keeping people healthy and taking pressure off the NHS', improved career pathways for care workers and new national standards to ensure providers and families use the best care technology.
- Care workers taking on further duties to deliver health interventions, such as blood pressure checks. The national career structure for care staff will also be expanded, ensuring there are opportunities for career progression and development pathways.
- The government will develop a shared digital platform to allow up-to-date medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff.
- Separately the government will shortly publish a new policy framework for the Better Care Fund in 2025/26 which will focus £9bn of NHS and local government funding on meeting two health priorities: moving care from hospital to the community and from sickness to prevention. Local leaders will be expected to make improvements on emergency admissions, delayed discharges and admissions to long-term residential care.
Responding to the announcement by the Health and Spocial Care Secretary, Dr Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) says:
'The announcement of an independent commission to reform adult social care is bittersweet. We welcome strong advocacy to look critically and constructively at the state of care in our country. But a report in 2028 is some way off. Social care is not short of countless reviews and reports on the sector and neither are we - VODG - short of practical policy solutions that can enable disabled people to lead their very best lives. We need the commission to move at pace, to capture the quick wins and – crucially – work in partnership with us on a journey of continuous social care reform.'
Further reforms to the NHS have also been announced including a new plan for NHS elective care to address waiting times, inefficiencies and health inequalities, and introduce more choice.