When will the government turn its promises of social care reform into action?

Sarah, our Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research, explains the need for the government to get on with reforming social care.

If you switched on the television this morning you might have seen the coverage of the Queen in the Houses of Parliament, joined by lots of people in funny outfits, carrying the crown on a big cushion and banging on doors. Though it might seem like a weird ritual, it’s an important part of our country and how it runs – it was the state opening of parliament and the Queen’s speech.  

The Queen’s speech and opening of parliament is a bit like the start of a new term at school. The Queen is like the headteacher, setting out what work will be covered and what should be achieved.  For organisations like Sense, it’s an opportunity for us to hear what the Government plans to work on over the next few months, things like new laws or changes to policies.

The lack of government response to social care is unacceptable

Like many people, I watched the Queen’s speech today and wondered if social care would be mentioned.  We’ve been waiting for social care reform for many years, but it hasn’t yet happened.

We see the reality of this every day: too many people with complex disabilities and their families unable to access their local communities, communicate and connect. Too little support for family carers, unable to get the respite they need. Too little equipment, support, and services to provide care. 

This is unacceptable. 

So what did we get in the speech?  One sentence: “proposals on social care reform will be brought forward”.  

That was it.

On the face of it, this might sound positive, but we’ve been here before – this was said in the Queen’s speech 2019, and the Prime Minister made a promise on the steps of Downing Street but still we haven’t seen anything.

But in the run-up to the Queen’s speech, there was a lot of coverage in the media about disagreements over social care between government departments. For too long, disabled people and others who use social care have fallen through the cracks of disagreements and debate with no action taken. 

Reform would transform the lives of people who use social care

At Sense, we know that the last year has been extremely challenging for everyone and that the government has had many pressing priorities. But this isn’t an excuse to delay reform again; it’s an opportunity to bring it forward and to transform the lives of people who use social care. 

The pandemic has shown us how vital front-line staff are and the valuable role that social care provides, but it’s also highlighted how far behind social care is.

We had to fight to get testing, vaccines and PPE for services that support disabled people and social care. Those who work in these services simply don’t receive the same level of support as the NHS. 

For Sense, there are some key things we want to see these reforms do:

• Bring more funding for social care services so that everyone can have their needs met
• Make sure that disabled people are included and considered in all plans to bring change, not just older people
• Recognise the incredible work that frontline staff provide and address the inequalities they face

So come on government, let’s turn promises of reform into action and let’s do it now. Disabled people have been waiting far too long and they deserve so much better.