The announcement by the Government that it will not provide social care the £500m promised in 2021 lets down individuals, unpaid carers and the social care system.

The Government once promised to fix social care – but instead of keeping this promise and showing leadership, the Government has let down millions of people.

Everyone from the public through to Government knows that social care is struggling to provide services to the many, many people who need them. The British Social Attitudes survey found just 15% of the public is satisfied with social care. This is no surprise.

The Social Care White Paper, published just over a year ago, recognised the urgent need for reform to enable people to get the care and support they need to live well. This cut in funding makes this difficult, if not impossible.

The loss of funding will also affect the NHS. Delayed discharges from acute settings are often due to the lack of social care in the community. If social care is starved of funding and unable to fill the thousands of vacancies within the sector, the NHS and patients will feel the impact.

It is high time that the Government understands that the health and wellbeing of the population is a public good in its own right. Failure to invest in the people of the United Kingdom is short sighted and will lead to the suffering of individuals and their families, and problems for the NHS, local government and wider society.

April 4th 2023