We have submitted written evidence to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and Health and Social Care Select Committee’s joint inquiry into the long-term funding of adult social care.
The submission provides an overview of our findings from our regulatory oversight of the adult social care sector, as well as our views on the barriers and opportunities to achieving high quality sustainable adult social care in England. It brings together information from our reports and findings, including State of Care 2016/17, State of Adult Social Care and the Local System Review interim report.
Our key points to the committee, and the wider system, are that:
- In our 2015/16 State of Care report, we said that social care was approaching a ‘tipping point’ and with the precarious nature of the market this danger has not disappeared.
- Resource is required now to stabilise the system, alongside a long-term sustainable funding solution within a reformed system.
- Our market oversight responsibilities enable us to monitor the sustainability of those care organisations in England that local authorities would find difficult to replace. Emerging data from this work suggests that the profitability of adult social care provision is falling.
- There needs to be a continued focus on improving quality and safety. We will play our part to ensure that people receive the safe, high quality, effective and compassionate care they deserve and have every right to expect.
Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said “We welcome this parliamentary inquiry into the long-term funding of adult social care as it is a crucial issue for this vital sector. However, as our submission highlights, it is essential that quality and the needs of people using services are at the heart of these considerations.”