Governments 'asleep at the wheel' on social care, report warns
Successive Governments have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ on social care, the author of a major review into the sector will warn today, with a ‘fundamentally fragmented system” and no overall leadership.
Baroness Louise Casey was asked by Sir Keir Starmer to produce a review into the sector, with Andy Burnham asking for the timeline for the final publication to be brought forward from 2028 to 2027.
In a speech to social care leaders in Liverpool today, she is expected to be highly critical in particular of the role of the Government during Covid, which she describes as a ‘national shame’ which led to the virus spreading ‘like wildfire’.
A report by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry last month stated that the care sector was “an afterthought” and rubbished then-health secretary Matt Hancock’s claim made in May 2020 about a so-called protective ring around care homes at the start of the pandemic as “unfounded”.
Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett said: “Quite the opposite was true.”
Speaking at the National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), Baroness Casey 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 are 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.”
A report, commissioned by Baroness Casey’s team and carried out by the Nuffield Trust and the Institute for Government think tanks, concluded adult social care in England is currently “a complex system where responsibilities are spread between central government departments and across a range of arm’s-length bodies; between national and local government; and between government and a vast array of non-public sector providers”.
It added: “Decision-making processes can be opaque and a single point of responsibility for overall oversight and stewardship is lacking.
“The consequences of this complexity and lack of clarity were highlighted during the Covid-19 crisis, and while that event forced some positive change, there remains a fundamentally fragmented system that lacks a coherent sense of direction.”
Mike Padgham is the Honorary President of the Independent Care Group, said: “I welcome what she's saying. A lot of those things in there, we've been saying for years – it's in a mess, the system is chaotic, we knew that before.
“The sad thing is, successive governments of all colours, all parties, have been asleep at the wheel. My biggest worry is, we haven't learnt.
“Not from Covid, I don't think we've learnt anything. I think we're as weak as we were before should it happen again.
“I feel Andy Burnham should use his political capital and do something on social care now while he still can. We should have a national care service tomorrow, we don't need lots more reports to tell us.
“It may not be perfect, like the NHS wasn’t when it came in ‘48. But at least we made a start because we can't postpone it any longer.”
COMMENT: PAGE 10.