The Local Government Association (LGA) published a consultation paper based on the future of social care reform. The paper calls for all stakeholders such as care home operators, owners, funders, care workers, service users and other members of the public to provide their views on how adult social care should be funded in the future.
The reform paper highlights that an ageing population and years of austerity have now caught up with the adult social care market and a new solution is needed to address the estimated £3.5billion funding gap the country faces by 2025.
Lexology, an online source for international legal updates, analysis and insights, said if the gap is not closed, funding pressures will lead to:
- Fewer people being able to get the high-quality care they need
- Providers under the increasing threat of financial failure
- Disinvestment in prevention driven by the requirement to meet people’s higher-level needs
Lexology’s website said: “These funding pressure in turn have severe knock-on consequences for the NHS as demand for costly acute care increases in the absence of appropriate social care.”
The consultation paper is seeking to open a debate and does not state a preference for any single solution. The paper does, however, highlight the need for continued improvements in the integration of adult social care and community care.
The paper also recognises a fundamental need to highlight the values on which the social care system of the future should stand.
The consultation is open until 26 September and the response will be published in the autumn in time to influence the Budget, spending review, NHS plan and the government’s green paper.
If you would like to have your say, please visit the Future of Adult Social Care website or submit your answers to the consultation questions to socialcareconversation@local.gov.uk