Today, we heard the Prime Minister’s personal commitment to strengthening social care and making sure people have access to the support that is right for them, in the places they call home and within the communities they are part of.
We welcome the new steps towards cross-party working within government and Westminster, and we echo the statements made by our colleagues at Social Care Futures and In Control.
It was also really good to see some familiar faces sitting directly behind the Prime Minister while he gave his speech.
We welcome the announcement that the Casey Commission will bring forward its proposals on improving social care in the UK by a year. We also welcome the big conversation that the Commission would like to undertake with communities and people who draw on support, to understand the true picture of social care.
Too often, people in the UK who are waiting for social care are placed away from their homes or in supported living services that are simply not right for them or their loved ones.
We welcome further investment and discussion about how social care will be funded in the future. We want to see an end to the postcode lottery in social care, where somebody living only ten minutes down the road may be unable to access the same service because the system and joined-up thinking are not there to listen to their individual needs.
Today, we welcome these developments and want to see a much bigger conversation. We would be happy to support the Commission where needed, helping to bring forward the voices that are too often missed from conversations about social care, particularly within communities that are described on paper as being “hard to reach.”
However, people are not hard to reach. We simply need to listen in a different way and hear the stories people are telling us about social care.
The Prime Minister was right when he said that the NHS is there to support people when they are ill or unwell. Too often, social care has been seen as the second cousin of the NHS. A commitment to address this and embed social care more strongly in the future is a positive step towards change.
Today, we will watch, listen and welcome the changes that the Prime Minister wants to make.
We are keen to hear more about the plans for a new care system and a National Care Service. We must ensure that people who draw on support, including personal assistance, remain truly in control of their own lives.
We watch with hope and optimism that social care is finally being listened to and acted upon in a way that previous generations have not had the opportunity to experience.
We will continue working with our partners to strengthen social care for the future and make it better, keeping the North Star focused on improved outcomes, genuine choice and control, and truly person-centred thinking.