The announcement of a new Independent Commission to transform social care is a significant step towards addressing the long-standing challenges within the social care system. This initiative, chaired by The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB, aims to create a National Care Service underpinned by national standards to deliver consistency of care and support across the country.
TLAP warmly welcome the announcement, including the appointment of Baroness Casey and the decision to report directly into the Prime Minister. We will be working positively and proactively to support the process to deliver the action, accountability, investment, creativity, and genuine commitment that social care reform needs.
A collaborative approach will be crucial for building a national consensus around a new National Care Service capable of meeting the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century.
Long-term investment of funding, focus, and effort is essential to translate fine words, policy, and law into real, tangible change in the lives of people wherever they live. As with the CQC single assurance framework and the work to develop the NHS 10-Year Plan, we would urge that the work of the Commission is shaped within the personalised care and support framework of Making It Real, with priorities agreed in co-production with people who draw on care and support for themselves or for their families and friends.
The voices of people who draw on care and support need to be fully included at all levels of the Comission. Ultimately, any transformation will be about people’s lives. What matters to our collective and individual wellbeing therefore needs to be the focal point from which all solutions and remodelling of social care can grow.
Building consent around transformation of Adult Social Care takes time but this must not be at the expense of making progress in the immediate term towards having a sustainable social care system built upon the foundations of choice, control and self-direction.
From any perspective, lived or learned, no-one can afford another lost decade of reform and progress towards collaborative, creative, sustainable, strengths-based, personalised, and community-led care and support. Think Local Act Personal and the National Co-Production Advisory Group have a clear remit and strong commitment to working collaboratively with the new Independent Commission to transform social care and make this vision real.
Ian McCreath, Director of TLAP, says:
“The announcement of this new Commission is good news and TLAP looks forward to working with Baroness Casey to ensure that the transformation of social care is comprehensive and inclusive.
We believe that, working together, we can deliver meaningful and lasting change in the social care system. It’s good to see that there is already recognition of the need for short and medium-term action alongside planning for the long-term. We must be ambitious in this work because there is urgent action needed in many areas. Fortunately, there is already growing consensus around the ‘north star’ for social care reform. This is set out by Social Care Future in their vision, in our Making It Real statements, and the ADASS Time to Act roadmap. We hope that Baroness Casey will build on this bedrock, working with people who draw on care and support and the sector to deliver.”
Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, Associate Director of TLAP, says:
“For the recommendations of the Commission to be truly authentic, it is crucial that people with lived experience are actively involved at every stage. The insights and perspectives of those who draw on care and support are invaluable in shaping policies that are both effective and compassionate. People with lived experience will need a seat at the table if we are to build a social care system that genuinely meets everyone’s needs, including those of the most marginalised. Working together makes sense – we’ve seen that the innovations and solutions proposed by those who draw on care and support usually provide the best ways forward. By partnering with people who draw on care and support the Commission can bring about reform that will benefit everyone.”
Isaac Samuels and Kate Sibthorp, Co-Chairs of the National Co-production Advisory Group, say:
“The success of any reform initiative depends on the lived experiences of those who are directly affected. All members of NCAG have direct experience of navigating social care systems and providing care ourselves. These lived insights and perspectives are essential to shaping solutions that are not only relevant but also sustainable. By working alongside those who understand the challenges first-hand, the new commission has a chance to create adult social care models that truly benefit the communities they are designed to serve.”
