“People of all ages should be able to live the lives they want to lead and we are pleased the Government is to begin these cross-party talks, which we have been calling for as part of our work on finding on a long-term, sustainable solution for adult social care."
Responding to Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock’s letter to all MPs and Peers, inviting them to meet to begin building a cross-party consensus on the future of adult social care, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“People of all ages should be able to live the lives they want to lead and we are pleased the Government is to begin these cross-party talks, which we have been calling for as part of our work on finding on a long-term, sustainable solution for adult social care.
“This announcement comes as we have launched our new report on the future of care, which restates the case for change, highlights the issues which need addressing and where action needs to be taken.
“The Government now has an opportunity to take these forward in the forthcoming talks and we at the LGA are happy to play our part in this.
“Adult social care services face a funding gap of almost £4 billion by 2025 just to cover basic inflationary and demographic pressures. The Budget next week and Spending Review later this year are also important opportunities to address the crucial issue of funding, as part of a sustainable, long-term solution for adult social care.”
Notes
The LGA’s new report – The lives we want to lead; towards change, towards hope – sets out the main issues that need to be addressed to ensure that people can live the lives they want to lead, and the kind of action councils want to see from government.
This includes making the case for the value of social care in its own right; funding to secure the short- to medium-term and pave the way for future reforms and more investment to support prevention and wellbeing. We also need changes from the NHS to further support a greater emphasis on prevention and wellbeing; and consideration of any long-term reform proposals against a set of key tests, such as their clarity, fairness and whether they pool the financial risk of care costs amongst the population at large.