The Five Pillars of Social Care Reform

1 Spend a percentage of GDP on care

Only by committing to spend a percentage of GDP on care can the sector get the funding it needs to progress. By ring-fencing this at a specific level for the future this would give providers the security they need to plan long-term. 2

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2 Create a National Care Service

At the moment, NHS healthcare is administered nationally and delivered locally whilst social care is administered and delivered locally. This makes for a disjointed approach. The creation of a unified National Care service, incorporating NHS healthcare and social care, would remove the boundaries and enable joined up care. A decision would need to be made how this unified care service was to be administered.

3 Set a National Minimum Wage per hour for care staff on a par with NHS

The recruitment of staff is the single biggest issue facing social care providers, with 160,000 vacancies on any one day. Whilst it remains more financially attractive to work in retail, social care will continue to struggle to recruit. A minimum wage on a par with their NHS counterparts, allied to a better career structure for care staff, would make the sector more competitive and attractive to employees, begin to address the staffing shortages and reward existing staff for the amazing work they do. This is vital and non-negotiable, regardless of pressures to make financial savings.

4 Set up an urgent social care task force to oversee reform

The social care sector has many bodies and individuals within it that can offer support and advice to the Government on how to effectively carry out the reform it needs. A task force would be an excellent vehicle to oversee and manage reform, draw upon the expertise within the sector and set deadlines and milestones for the delivery of that reform.

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5 Fix a ‘fair price for care’ tariff.

Across the sector, providers need consistency in terms of the price commissioners pay for care. Setting an agreed cost per bed and cost per homecare visit, based on the true cost of delivering that care, would provide the sector with the much-needed investment it needs to protect it for the future and spark investment in growth.