Simplyhealth comments on adult social care funding report
The Housing, Communities & Local Government and Health and Social Care Select Committees' joint report on the long-term funding of adult social care was published on Wednesday 27th June 2018.
We welcome the publication of the Joint Select Committee report on the long-term funding of adult social care, which outlines a number of recommendations to put this on a sustainable footing and most effectively meet current and future need.
In our submission to the inquiry, we outlined how unpaid carers play an invaluable role in supporting individuals in local communities and alleviating pressures on public services, and so we are pleased that the Committees have recognised they are being increasingly relied upon as key providers of the nation’s social care. But they are not an inexhaustible resource, and so political and public consensus on funding options much be reached as soon as possible to promote a stable system that safeguards the wellbeing, independence and dignity of unpaid carers and those for whom they care.
Whilst the Carers Action Plan outlined a number of measures to help unpaid carers in the short-term, the forthcoming Green Paper provides an opportunity to consider how high-quality, durable and targeted carer support can be offered, in and out of the workplace, as part of a reformed, reliable and adequately funded social care system.
Previous Simplyhealth research found that:
o Four in ten (42%) UK adults believe greater support needs to be offered to working carers in order to help fund a sustainable social care system
o 43% of people think that providing more support to informal, or unpaid carers, such as simplifying the Carer’s Allowance process, could help fund a more sustainable social care system
o 35% of people thought that increasing public education and awareness of their future social care needs could help transform social care into a more sustainable model
o Only 8% of people thought that decisions around the future of health and social care should be made by the governing political party which includes the policy in their manifesto
o 34% of people were of the opinion that decisions about the future of health and social care should be made by an independent body comprising health professionals and charities
o 22% of people were of the opinion that the future of health and social care should be made by a cross-party group of politicians from all political parties
All figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,679 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28th February - 1st March 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).