Care England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent providers of adult social care, is pleased to announce the launch of Care For Our Future, a roadmap for delivering sustainable adult social care. Setting out the sector’s priorities across three key themes – workforce, funding and integration – the roadmap issues a series of policy recommendations for the next Government to implement within 100 days, 2 years and 5 years of entering office. The plan is backed by major representative groups from across the sector.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:
“Adult social care affects all of us. From the vital care and support delivered to our loved ones to the £51.5bn contributed to the English economy every year, all our futures depend on a well-resourced and resilient sector. This roadmap harnesses the sector’s talent and enthusiasm to provide a blueprint for the next Government to move us towards the sustainable future our sector and society so desperately needs.”
“The recommendations are pragmatic, realistic and would deliver meaningful impact. This includes a multi-billion pound boost to the economy, shorter NHS waiting times and care work becoming a valued and rewarded career. It is incumbent upon the incoming Government, whatever their political persuasion, to put the future of adult social care at the heart of its vision for the country and this roadmap represents the foundations on which to do so.”
Care England’s latest publication, Care For Our Future: The roadmap to a sustainable future for adult social care, strikes a balance between addressing the urgent needs of the adult social care sector and remaining pragmatic and deliverable amid a challenging economic and political landscape. Care For Our Future represents a comprehensive and ambitious programme for the next Government.
To improve the quality of care, boost the economy and empower the sector’s workforce, Care England is calling on the next Government to commit to:
Within 100 days of the next Government taking office:
- Mandate the professional registration of adult social care staff in England
- Zero-rate VAT for welfare services in England
- Mandate direct adult social care representation at all ICS levels in England
Within two years of the next Government taking office:
- Implement a fully-funded £15 minimum care wage and develop parity of esteem with NHS staff
- Close the Fair Cost of Care funding gap and repeat the exercise at a sector-wide level
- Publish a strategy for hospital discharge which introduces a national tariff of £1,500 per week
Within five years of the next Government taking office:
- Consolidate reforms within a fully-funded, long-term adult social care workforce plan
- Deliver a long-term adult social care funding settlement, with a £10bn annual funding boost
- Deliver a fully mapped prevention and integration plan
Martin Green continues:
“To make real progress, we need real change. This is something organisations from across the health and social care system are actively calling for. Our roadmap accounts for the challenging economic situation likely to be inherited by the next Government, prioritising measures that would stabilise the sector in the immediate term and transform care over the next five years. By giving the sector the resources and confidence it needs, the next Government can play a decisive role in delivering an adult social care sector that is fit for our future and that the nation can be proud of.”
Care For Our Future: The roadmap to a sustainable future for adult social care
‘Pragmatic and Deliverable’ New Plan Has Cross-Sector Backing
Care England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent providers of adult social care, is pleased to announce the launch of Care For Our Future, a roadmap for delivering sustainable adult social care. Setting out the sector’s priorities across three key themes – workforce, funding and integration – the roadmap issues a series of policy recommendations for the next Government to implement within 100 days, 2 years and 5 years of entering office. The plan is backed by major representative groups from across the sector.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:
“Adult social care affects all of us. From the vital care and support delivered to our loved ones to the £51.5bn contributed to the English economy every year, all our futures depend on a well-resourced and resilient sector. This roadmap harnesses the sector’s talent and enthusiasm to provide a blueprint for the next Government to move us towards the sustainable future our sector and society so desperately needs.”
“The recommendations are pragmatic, realistic and would deliver meaningful impact. This includes a multi-billion pound boost to the economy, shorter NHS waiting times and care work becoming a valued and rewarded career. It is incumbent upon the incoming Government, whatever their political persuasion, to put the future of adult social care at the heart of its vision for the country and this roadmap represents the foundations on which to do so.”
Care England’s latest publication, Care For Our Future: The roadmap to a sustainable future for adult social care, strikes a balance between addressing the urgent needs of the adult social care sector and remaining pragmatic and deliverable amid a challenging economic and political landscape. Care For Our Future represents a comprehensive and ambitious programme for the next Government.
To improve the quality of care, boost the economy and empower the sector’s workforce, Care England is calling on the next Government to commit to:
Within 100 days of the next Government taking office:
- Mandate the professional registration of adult social care staff in England
- Zero-rate VAT for welfare services in England
- Mandate direct adult social care representation at all ICS levels in England
Within two years of the next Government taking office:
- Implement a fully-funded £15 minimum care wage and develop parity of esteem with NHS staff
- Close the Fair Cost of Care funding gap and repeat the exercise at a sector-wide level
- Publish a strategy for hospital discharge which introduces a national tariff of £1,500 per week
Within five years of the next Government taking office:
- Consolidate reforms within a fully-funded, long-term adult social care workforce plan
- Deliver a long-term adult social care funding settlement, with a £10bn annual funding boost
- Deliver a fully mapped prevention and integration plan
Martin Green continues:
“To make real progress, we need real change. This is something organisations from across the health and social care system are actively calling for. Our roadmap accounts for the challenging economic situation likely to be inherited by the next Government, prioritising measures that would stabilise the sector in the immediate term and transform care over the next five years. By giving the sector the resources and confidence it needs, the next Government can play a decisive role in delivering an adult social care sector that is fit for our future and that the nation can be proud of.”