Our response to Health and Social Care Committee’s ‘The Cost of Inaction’ Report

This report illustrates that as a nation we can no longer afford to neglect adult social care and the needs of disabled and older people.

Social care is sometimes portrayed as a cost burden and a problem to be fixed. Now there’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform adult social care through developments like a National Care Service informed by the Casey Commission. Social care must be seen as a core part of our nation’s infrastructure and an investment in Britain’s economic growth. Most importantly, it is an investment in the lives of disabled and older people, their families, and our communities. 

Decades of inaction on social care has left a sector burdened by huge challenges and disabled people struggling to get on with their daily lives. But this can change. Disabled people across the UK don’t have to miss out on vital care they need – help with getting up, seeing people close to them, or getting to work. 

We echo the Committee’s call on the Government to fundamentally change how it views social care, as well as many of its recommendations. 

Care must be recognised as an enabler, supporting people to live independent lives, and a key cog in the wheel of economic growth. The first test of the Government’s resolve to take action and deliver change is its forthcoming Spending Review.