Third Report - Social care: funding and workforce

Select Committee
Health and Social Care Committee HC 206 22 October 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 21 items (20 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 21 of 21 classified)
Accepted 5
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 7
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 1
Government response
Social care: funding and workforce: Government Response to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2019-21 · published 17 Feb 2021
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker
Clear

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results
5 Recommendation Deferred
Alongside such a long term funding settlement we strongly believe the government should publish a...
Recommendation
Alongside such a long term funding settlement we strongly believe the government should publish a 10 year plan for the social care sector as it has done for the NHS. The two systems are increasingly linked and it makes no … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the long-term challenges in social care but states its current priority is the COVID-19 pandemic. It commits to bringing forward proposals for sustainable improvement in 2021, but does not agree to publish a specific 10-year plan for the social care sector.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
16 Recommendation Deferred
Para 89
The current system is unfair, confusing, demeaning, and frightening for the most vulnerable people in...
Recommendation
The current system is unfair, confusing, demeaning, and frightening for the most vulnerable people in our society, and their families. It is therefore essential that the Government tackle the problems in the care sector as a priority. The success of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the urgency of social care reform and its commitment to sustainable improvement, stating it will bring forward proposals in 2021 while prioritising market stabilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
17 Recommendation Deferred
Para 101
The Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s report makes a persuasive case for the introduction of free...
Recommendation
The Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s report makes a persuasive case for the introduction of free personal care. This would cost around £5bn per year, which is only a small fraction of what is currently spent on NHS care. It would … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the long-term challenges to the social care system and its commitment to sustainable improvement. However, it defers a decision on the introduction of free personal care, stating its current priority is stabilizing the market during the pandemic and that proposals for the social care system will be brought forward in 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
18 Recommendation Deferred
Para 102
We also strongly endorse a lifetime cap on care costs which could be implemented swiftly...
Recommendation
We also strongly endorse a lifetime cap on care costs which could be implemented swiftly under the provisions of the Care Act 2014. Such a change would focuses resources on the most severely affected people, protecting those with very high … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the long-term challenges in social care and its commitment to sustainable improvement. However, it prioritises current COVID-19 response and market stabilisation, deferring specific proposals, including a lifetime cap on care costs, to be brought forward in 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
19 Recommendation Deferred
Para 103
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences both for vulnerable people using social care, and...
Recommendation
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences both for vulnerable people using social care, and for the committed professional workforce that provide that care. These challenges have been exacerbated by long-standing funding and workforce issues which need to be recognised … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government stated its priority was stabilizing adult social care during the pandemic through a one-year spending review, and committed to bringing forward sustainable improvement proposals in 2021, implicitly deferring the specific timeline requested.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
20 Recommendation Deferred
Para 104
We believe that the starting point for the social care funding increase must be an...
Recommendation
We believe that the starting point for the social care funding increase must be an additional £7bn per year by 2023–24 to cover demographic changes, uplift staff pay in line with the National Minimum Wage and to protect people who … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the long-term challenges in social care but does not commit to the recommended additional £7 billion per year by 2023-24. Instead, it prioritizes stabilizing the market during the pandemic through the one-year 2020 Spending Review and states it will bring forward further proposals for sustainable improvement in 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details
21 Conclusion Deferred
But we are clear that this is only a starting point.
Conclusion
But we are clear that this is only a starting point. It will not provide any improvement in access to care, which is urgently needed and would be improved through introducing free personal care as recommended by previous select committee … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government stated its current priority is stabilizing adult social care during the pandemic and committed to bringing forward proposals for sustainable improvement in 2021, but did not specifically address the re-endorsed recommendation for free personal care or the estimated higher funding costs.
Department of Health and Social Care
View Details