Government inaction on social care
The Government announcement of a 4 year Commission on Social Care is deeply shocking to Disabled people, old and young. It should be equally astonishing to all non-disabled people who might find themselves or loved ones in need of vital care and support in the future.
Creating a Commission is a declaration that nothing will be done to fix social care during the term of this parliament. It is a declaration that the Government is prepared to let millions of Disabled citizens, young and old, go without vital care and support for the foreseeable future. The discussions often make no mention of the fact that half of the social care budget goes to support Disabled children and working-age adults.
Before the election, Labour was clear that social care would not be a campaigning issue, as their view was that the public didn’t care enough about it. It appears that this calculation is still guiding their actions in Government.
We all know about the dire state of public finances, but none of this justifies the Government turning its back on social care. The Government has a massive budget and the power to decide how it is spent. There is nothing more important than giving citizens the care and support we need to live our lives. This moral position is widely accepted in health care, so why not in social care? There is no rational basis to treat health and social care differently; they are equally important and should be the bedrock of a compassionate and just society.
So, what should the Government do to fix Social Care?
The Government should acknowledge that social care has parity with health care - they are equally important. That society should collectively pool the risk. They should both be free at the point of use and they should both be paid for through general taxation.
The Government should put Disabled people, young and old, and organisations led by Disabled people at the heart of planning for Social Care at national and local levels. It should stop talking about us and instead talk with us, and stop making professionals and providers the key partners in discussion.
The Government should immediately increase investment in social care by eight billion pounds per year to provide the urgent injection of funds it needs
With a massive majority in parliament and over 4 years more in office, Disabled people need the Labour Government to show leadership on social care. The problems are well-known, and the solutions are well-rehearsed. We really don’t need to know anything more!
The Government should work with Disabled people, young and old, and organisations led by Disabled people, to develop a radical new model for Social Care. A model that has national standards, a model where Disabled people have leadership roles and a model where Disabled people, young and old, receive the personalised care and support needed to lead the lives they choose, within an inclusive society.
We need the Government to take a values-led approach based on providing care and support to all citizens who need it and based on parity between health and social care. This new approach must treat Disabled people, young and old, as valued and equal citizens, entitled to the best possible care and support, free at the point of use.
At Disability Rights UK we believe this model already exists. And we are not alone. Disabled people’s organisations represented by the DPO Forum for England, believe that a new vision for care and support should be a National Independent Living Service (NILS).
This new service would meet personal needs and support people to stay in the community. Not only is this what most of the public assume we already have - believing that care and support is already available from the welfare state, but a needs-led system would provide support when needs first appear, preventing crises, expensive blockages in the system and substantially reducing demand for high-cost acute provision.
The way forward for social care is crystal clear when we are led by values of equality, justice, compassion and inclusion.