Saying something is fixed doesn’t mean it’s fixed
10 years ago, much to my surprise, I became a politician, which became almost 5 years of representing my town in Local Government.
I became a politician for two reasons:
- To make the place I live better for my two daughters, who were aged 3 and 5 at the time
- To be able to influence the support that is provided to those experiencing the greatest vulnerabilities in our community; Social Care
I’ll be honest, I was VERY naive.
I thought logic, facts and a commitment to social justice would be all that was needed.
I hadn’t reckoned on how little social care was understood or valued.
Just because I thought it was fundamentally important to the fabric of society didn’t necessarily mean others did!
This posed a crucial question for me, and continues to, about what kind of country we are or want to be.
Do we as a nation value the contribution of our elders and of those with different abilities?
Are the Key Workers who support, enable and empower those experiencing vulnerability respected for the work they do?
Are they regarded as highly as colleagues working in the NHS?
In 2010, when I became a politician, the culture shock of a coalition government and the subsequent years of austerity had yet to begin.
One of my first jobs was to Chair our local Health & Wellbeing Board.
The Board had, and still has, 3 statutory responsibilities:
- Develop a Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy
- Carry out a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
- Promote the integration of care & health
All worthy pursuits which echo so much of what is currently developing across the country in the creation of Integrated Care Systems…..but that is for another blog.
This was just before the introduction of the Care Act 2014.
This piece of legislation was the perfect antidote to the legislative disaster that was the Health & Social Care Act 2012.
The Care Act focused on wellbeing; a multi faceted take on what enables people to have a good life; more than health, more than care.
It also included a solution, created by Andrew Dilnot, to cap the costs that an individual would have to pay during their lifetime for care. It would be transformative.
That part of the Care Act was shelved.
Fast forward to 2021 and the current government have reignited that part of the act and from 2024 a new cap on care costs will be introduced. A new Health and Care Levy will be introduced to fund this cap……not unlike the Social Care Levy introduced to our Council Tax bills when our current Health Secretary was the Chancellor.
The cap on care costs is welcome but, but, it doesn’t solve the problem we have now.
Good social care makes such a big difference to people. The problem is that, despite everyone’s best efforts, it can be hit or miss whether you get it, because across the country there just isn’t enough money for care, or enough care workers, to go round.
I’m pleased that the government have announced more help for people who face sky high care bills, but virtually none of the funding that goes along with this plan is set to arrive in local areas before autumn 2023 at the earliest, and most of it is tied up with administering the new care cap.
Yet many people need more help from good care services right now.
They can’t afford to wait until 2024 because that will be far too late. Unless more money comes into social care via local councils very soon, more and more people will have to put up with inadequate provision, if they can get it at all. Without an urgent injection of cash for Local Authorities I also fear the position will go on getting worse, because of growing demand and rising costs as summer turns to autumn and winter.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Chancellor, holds the future of care in his hands.
If this government is serious about levelling up and tackling inequality then they must start here; supporting those in our communities with the greatest needs.
Soundtrack: The Eagle & The Dove by Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler
