The Health and Social Care Committee is calling for an immediate £7 billion investment in social care to resolve the crisis in funding exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The committee’s report, ‘Social Care: Funding and Workforce’, urged the government to use the upcoming spending review to raise the annual adult social care budget by £7 billion by the end of the parliament to avoid the risk of market collapse.
MPs stressed that figure is a starting point and would not address the growing problem of unmet need nor improve access to care, with the full cost of adequate funding likely to run to tens of billions of pounds.
The report meanwhile backs the introduction of a £46,000 lifetime cap to protect against “catastrophic” care costs, as originally proposed by the Dilnot Commission.
In addition, the MPs endorse further consideration of free personal care as the current means-tested system is “unfair, confusing, demeaning and frightening for the most vulnerable people in our society, and their families”.
The report also calls for action to improve the pay and recognition given to social care workers - establishing a clear career path that is more effectively aligned with the NHS – and transitional arrangements put in place to ensure the recruitment of social care workers from overseas.
“To address wider issues the sector needs a 10-year plan and a people plan just like the NHS,” said Health and Social Care committee chairman Jeremy Hunt (pictured).
“Without such a plan, words about parity of esteem will be hollow. We owe it to both the staff and families devastated by loss to make this a moment of real change,” he added.
Care England backed the committee’s call for a ten-year plan for social care.
“It is heartening that after so long in the wilderness the sector is being listened to and we hope that this report will be the turning point that we so desperately need,” said chief executive Martin Green.
“The sector needs support and one tangible way to provide this is via a ten-year plan for adult social care. This plan must be carefully aligned with the NHS and I hope that the Committee will monitor progress as it must not sit on a shelf and gather dust or we will be face with a vastly depleted social care sector with huge repercussions for the nation,” he added.
