In a guest column from Vic Rayner OBE, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Care Forum (NCF), we share the NCF’s response to the election results.
Following the resounding majority achieved by Labour there is a sense of optimism and energy circulating through the adult social care sector. The new government has a once in a generation opportunity to create real change. Key policy decisions made within the first 100 days and across the new parliament, could improve the lives of care workers and millions of people who depend on social care or struggle to access it, their families, unpaid carers and wider communities. Sustainable funding and reform are desperately needed which previous governments have not delivered, with plans kicked further down the road. We hope the new government will prove different. As I write this, there have been suggestions that we will see some form of engagement exercise or commission to establish public and political priorities around care. We are urging the government to move forward at pace, as the much-promised transformation cannot come soon enough for those needing, receiving and working in care.
In the build up to the election we helped bring together voices across the care sector to maximise the impact of our combined perspectives and amplified campaigns including ensuring those who draw on care and support have access to voting. We have shared information and intelligence as parties have published their manifestos and policy ideas. Plus, perhaps most importantly, we have made clear our belief that social care matters to us all. We know that not only are there new politicians sitting at the helm of departments like DHSC, but also hundreds of new MPs grappling with issues at a constituency level as well for many, as being part of the newly elected government. We need them all to speak up for care, and to take on board our core ask – when thinking of policy, ‘think social care first’.
We have made formal contact with the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, together with Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, to offer our warm congratulations. We have given assurance that the not-for-profit care and support sector stands ready to bring together our collective expertise to work together to transform social care.
Labour’s flagship policies for social care – a National Care Service and fair pay agreement for care workers – are long term propositions and it is essential that the expertise and experience of our members help shapes this work. However, we also need commitment in the first 100 parliamentary days, such as:
- The setting out of a clear plan with indicative timescales for short, medium and long-term goals as well as vision and engagement
- A series of national conversations leading to the co-production of a ‘social contract’ setting out the mutual rights and responsibilities of individual citizens, families, communities and the state in providing, and paying for, support
It’s essential that the new administration listens to the experiences of people in receipt of care and support so that policies are truly co-produced. This is the only way to get to the heart of what people need to live good lives.
NCF would welcome hearing from providers on their views and plans to engage with the new government. Please contact my colleague Victoria Garratt, Communications Officer on victoria.garratt@nationalcareforum.org.uk and for more information please visit https://www.nationalcareforum.org.uk/membership/.
