Social Care Green Paper: a toothless tiger or key to the future?
Social Care Green Paper: a toothless tiger or key to the future?
By Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
Will a major new ‘blue-print’ for England’s care and support system be the key to the development of future services – or will it be a ‘toothless tiger’?
The countdown has begun for the unveiling of the Government’s Social Care Green Paper, due to be published in June.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope is coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate that the document will come with a real commitment for reform.
There have been many fine comments about how the Green Paper will ‘shape the future of social care’. But we all know that actions speak louder than words.
Will the Government put money where its mouth is by providing sufficient funding for substantial and long-lasting reforms?
Will much-needed investment in transforming our care services to meet the demands of the 21st century be hampered by the billions given to bail out our banks?
Will reforms proposed in the Green Paper be delayed or dropped if the Government is defeated in the next General Election (which could take place next year)?
Mr Hope says the Green Paper should prove a watershed in ‘laying the foundations for a different kind of caring, positive, and more equal-minded society’.
Two important announcements in recent weeks – during and after the 2009 Budget – indicate that social care is coming to the top of the agenda.
The Government has pledged to spend £75 million on helping 50,000 long-term unemployed young people into social care traineeships.
Under the scheme, employers will receive a £1,500 subsidy to take on social care apprentices aged between 18 and 24.
Experienced graduates, managers and leaders from the private sector will also be encouraged to join the social care sector as part of the new Adult and Social Care Workforce Strategy.
Mr Hope is also extending compulsory registration for England’s 500,000 homecare workers to ‘win back confidence in social care’.
The General Social Care Council is due to begin registering staff early next year on a voluntary basis before the scheme becomes compulsory.
All those registered will have to abide by a code of practice and meet conditions on training and professional standards.
The move comes just a few weeks after a BBC Panorama investigative team uncovered poor practice in domiciliary care in parts of the UK.
Both announcements – relating to apprenticeships and registration – are positive steps forward to prepare us for the challenges that lie ahead.
However, there are doubts that the Government will have enough money – and the commitment – to turn these proposals into reality.
There are also serious concerns that the millions/billions that will be needed to pay for the reforms outlined in the Green Paper will be available.
The national charity Counsel and Care has warned that time is running out for radical reform of the care system to support the growing number of elderly needing care.
It says Britain’s ageing population is experiencing a care crisis that is likely to worsen during the current recession.
Stephen Burke, chief executive of Counsel and Care, told the 2009 New Challenges for Care Homes Conference: ‘Older people are facing the toughest of times. The care gap is growing as older people can’t get the help and support they need. Now is not the time to grow old in Britain.
‘The Green Paper can’t come soon enough. The country needs bold leadership in creating a care system that is simpler, fairer, transparent, consistent and flexible. Older people and their families want nothing less.’
Mr Burke said there had to be better use of public spending on care, health and housing and people would need to make better use of their own resources. ‘But the real challenge for government is what priority and what value does it place on old age in 21st century Britain?’
Counsel and Care has published an older people’s manifesto (VotingAge). It includes a number of potential solutions (ie):
- Improve pensions by ring-fencing tax monies
- Allow those receiving the State Pension to also receive a carer’s allowance
- A Minister/Commissioner for older people
- An Ombudsman for age-related complaints
- Inter-generational pilots to improve relationships between older and younger people
One area expected to be raised in the Green Paper is whether there should be a single or dual system of funding for care users.
Government officials are expected to favour a dual system based on whether people are of working age or retired.
The question of whether there should be a universal right to a personal care and support package for all people with a minimum level of need, regardless of means, is also likely to be addressed.
The public’s willingness to pay more in tax to fund social care – in a society in which there has been a sharp fall in the proportion of workers to retired – is likely to be tested.
The debate over the Green Paper, however, is expected to be overshadowed by party politics and the prospect that we will have a new government after the next General Election.
The Conservatives are yet to announce their favoured reforms and have not dismissed suggestions that they will scrap proposals put forward by the Government.
Leading Tories – including PM in waiting David Cameron – have warned that we are facing tough times for many years to come.
The need to pay off many of the debts that we are incurring – particularly through bank bail-outs – will have a marked effect on our economy for many years to come.
The Tories argue that we will have to face many sacrifices in the future to recover from the current recession and spending policy.
So, will social care be one of those sacrifices? Labour – and the Conservatives – have a duty to provide an answer sooner rather than later.
Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
Roberts Consultants, specialists in developing homecare businesses
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