The continued invisibility of the adult social care sector as a whole is increasingly damaging to both those who draw on care and who provide unpaid care at a time of increasing need, rising costs and a shrinking workforce
That is the conclusion of a House of Commons Adult Social Care Committee who afterhearing from a range of witnesses, including disabled adults and older people, carers, service providers, local authorities, and academics, the report sets out a new approach to adult social care which calls on the Government to commit to a more positive and resilient approach to adult social care based on greater visibility for the whole sector, as well as greater choice and control for disabled adults and older people and a better deal for unpaid carers.
Baroness Andrews, Committee Chair, said:
“In this report we have revealed the impact that the invisibility of the adult social care sector as a whole has on the way we perceive and provide for adult social care. Our recommendations are intended to bring those who draw on and provide unpaid care into the daylight and that starts with changing the perceptions around care, providing the realistic financial and workforce strategies that are long overdue, and planning for a system responsive to present needs and resilient for the future.
All that will help the unpaid carer now so often at risk of poverty and ill health with a better future. But we want a better present for them too – and our specific recommendations for their support will deliver that.”
