The government have announced immediate investment and reforms to improve adult social care, and have appointed Baroness Louise Casey to head the independent commission and build a cross-party consensus on the future for social care.

• Government has set out immediate investment and reforms to improve adult social care and support the workforce
• Package of support will deliver the government’s Plan for Change by helping to keep older people out of hospital and living at home independently, for longer
• Thousands more disabled people to receive home adaptations as government improves technology and data sharing between NHS and social care

Thousands more people with disabilities will be supported to remain in their homes thanks to immediate action government is taking to improve adult social care, support the care workforce and take pressure off the NHS.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting MP has confirmed an £86 million boost to the Disabled Facilities Grant for this financial year – on top of the £86 million announced for next financial year at the Budget, taking the annual total to £711 million – to allow 7,800 more disabled and elderly people to make vital improvements to their home, allowing them to live more independent lives and reducing hospitalisations. 

Alongside the funding, the government’s immediate action to support adult social care also includes harnessing the power of care technology to transform care and support older people to live at home for longer, cutting red tape to ensure billions of joint NHS and social care funding is keeping people healthy and taking pressure off the NHS, as well as improved career pathways for care workers and new national standards to ensure providers and families use the best care technology. 

Care workers will be better supported to take on further duties to deliver health interventions, such as blood pressure checks, meaning people can receive more routine checks and care at home without needing to travel to healthcare settings. The national career structure for care staff will also be expanded, ensuring there are opportunities for career progression and development pathways. Upskilling carers will not only help boost morale and the retention of care workers, but it will also lead to improved outcomes for patients. 

The government will develop a shared digital platform to allow up-to-date medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff, including when someone last took their medication, to ensure people receive the best possible care. 

The changes announced will support the adult social care sector to give people the best possible care in the most appropriate place. It will also deliver on the government’s plan for change by reducing the amount of time patients spend in hospital. 

Alongside immediate steps to ease pressure on the sector and improve support for care workers, the government is also kickstarting work on the necessary long-term reform to overhaul social care and address the inherited challenges it faces. As set out in the manifesto, this deep reform will include the creation of a national care service underpinned by national standards, delivering consistency of care across the country. As a first step, the government will launch an independent commission into adult social care to be chaired by The Baroness Casey, to inform the work needed to deliver this. 

Wes Streeting MP, said: 

In the first 6 months of this government, work has already begun on stabilising the care sector, investing in prevention, and in carers and care workers. The investment and reforms we’re announcing today will help to modernise social care, get it working more closely with the NHS, and help deliver our Plan for Change. 

But our ageing society, with costs of care set to double in the next 20 years, demands longer-term action. 

The independent commission will work to build a national consensus around a new national care service able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century. 

I have written to opposition parties to invite them to take part in the commission’s work, and asked Baroness Louise Casey to build a cross-party consensus, to ensure the national care service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years.