Exclusive:Yorkshire social care leader writes letter to the Prime Minister urging him to 'be as bold as Nye Bevan was'

In his letter, shared exclusively with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Padgham told Sir Keir that “those of us delivering care to our oldest and most vulnerable have found little to cheer as yet”.

The new government has already indefinitely delayed its pre-election promise to bring in the fees cap, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves blaming a £22 billion black hole in public finances.

There has also been little clarity on the proposed National Care Service, which was a manifesto commitment, although Ms Reeves told this paper that it would be brought in within this Parliament.

In his letter to Sir Keir, Mr Padgham wrote: “In your speech this week you talked about serving the people who serve their communities and your hopes for an NHS ‘not just back on its feet, but fit for the future’.

“But where was the action to look after many hundreds of thousands of older, vulnerable and disabled adults who are currently not getting the care they need?”

Mr Padgham, who is also chair of the Independent Care Group, said that without proper support for social care, “the NHS will stay on its knees”.

“You spoke of short-term pain for long term good,” Mr Padgham wrote. 

“Well social care has suffered long term pain with no sign of any good. The sector has suffered 30 years of cuts with the result that it is now in crisis.”

He urged Sir Keir and Ms Reeves to spare local authorities, who commission the bulk of social care, to be spared from cuts in the Budget.

And he told the Prime Minister to “be as bold as Nye Bevan was in 1948”. 

He said: “Create the National Care Service straight away, bringing NHS and social care together to get care to those who need it, properly reward and recognise our social care workforce and create a sector that is fit for purpose and that can proudly provide proper, cradle to the grave care.”

Letter in full

Dear Prime Minister,

We are now more than 50 days into your government and, whilst still early, those of us delivering care to our oldest and most vulnerable have found little to cheer as yet. The decision, within days of being elected, to axe the proposed cap on care costs, did not give us optimism.

It is too early to condemn, and the social care sector continues to give your government the benefit of the doubt. But we need to see some positive signs.

In your speech this week you talked about serving the people who serve their communities and your hopes for an NHS “not just back on its feet, but fit for the future”.

But where was the action to look after many hundreds of thousands of older, vulnerable and disabled adults who are currently not getting the care they need?

And where was the promise to reform social care and properly reward our hard-working staff who serve their community but have not seen their pay rise significantly in years?

Without proper support for social care and the creation of a sector that can offer care, when and where it is needed, the NHS will stay on its knees.

There are 1.6 million people who cannot get the care they need and many thousands in hospital because there is no social care available for them. This is our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters and friends. This is a scandal that shames us as a country. For too long those who benefit from social care and those who provide it have waited patiently in the queue for our turn, but that turn never comes.

We must switch resources from the NHS into social care to pay staff properly and fill the 132,000 staff vacancies; to give care to those who can’t access it and to free up hospital beds. This would eventually save the NHS money.

You spoke of short-term pain for long term good. Well social care has suffered long term pain with no sign of any good. The sector has suffered 30 years of cuts with the result that it is now in crisis. People clapped for social care workers as they fought alongside their NHS counterparts to contain Covid-19. But where is their reward for doing that, for not going on strike when others did and for looking after our most vulnerable?

We know government alone cannot solve all the issues. The social care sector has a wealth of knowledge, experience and practical solutions to put at the government’s disposal and stands ready to offer support. You have shown with your appointment of James Timpson to the post of prisons minister that you can take a creative approach to finding solutions. I suggest you look at something similar for social care and begin change swiftly to restore confidence.

Our plea to you now, as you prepare for what you say will be an austere October budget, is to spare us any further cuts – local authorities, who commission the bulk of care, cannot take any more. 

Instead, invest in social care. Be as bold as Nye Bevan was in 1948, create the National Care Service straight away, bringing NHS and social care together to get care to those who need it, properly reward and recognise our social care workforce and create a sector that is fit for purpose and that can proudly provide proper, cradle to the grave care. And this needs to happen now, not wait for any lengthy and unnecessary royal commissions when we already know what needs to be done.

I have written to you and to your Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, raising these issues with you and I repeat my invitation to meet, either in Westminster or here in North Yorkshire, to discuss them further, at your earliest convenience.

Mike Padgham, chair, Independent Care Group