Bridgehead | Social Care PR’s Post

After years of decline, the number of people receiving adult social care in England has risen for the second year in a row, hitting levels not seen since 2017-18. Increased funding and boosted reablement services have played a key role, but unmet needs and funding concerns persist: https://lnkd.in/eR5dX2UG #AdultSocialCare #SocialCare #SocialCareReform #Reablement

This article from Community Care about the legacy of Conservative austerity policies really sets out the damage that has been done to Adult Social Care. The Care Act (2014) has some excellent provisions and the vision of Adult Social Care it sets out is admirable. But its positive vision hit up against the reality of the devastating cuts the Conservatives imposed on Local Authorities. One study noted in the article shows that spending on carers was reduced following the implementation, contradicting the very purpose of the Act. A number of Local Authorities are now close to bankruptcy as a consequence of the severity of this funding crisis. https://lnkd.in/ebKutuMa

Josh MacAlister warns ministers ‘mess with Care Review reforms at own peril’ MP and Care Review author Josh MacAlister has warned ministers that any plans to amend reforms to children’s social care taken forward by the previous government would be made “at their own peril”. MacAlister published his final report to government in 2022, calling for a “wholesale reform” of the children’s social care system including a greater focus on early help, keeping families together and the introduction of regional commissioning models for residential and foster care placements. MacAlister called for £2.6bn worth of funding over four years to back the changes. Review of children’s social care system prioritises family help Care Review response: funding fails to match scale of reforms In its response to the review, Stable Homes, Built on Love, published in March last year, ministers took forward a series of recommendations, backed by £200mn over two years. Speaking at an event hosted by CYP Now and the Centre For Young Lives, and sponsored by PeopleToo in central London, MacAlister told the audience that he doesn’t think the new government “needs to go back and look at Stable Homes, Built on Love”. “I'd be worried if that was where we were headed because we've been through the process of asking ‘what's the solution here?’ “One of the things I'm proud of is that we reached the end of that really comprehensive process with the key organisations in broadly the same place,” he said. He added that there were “bits” of the report he would like the government to “take further and be bolder” with including reforming care standards and boosting commissioning powers handed to councils. However, he concluded: “The broad direction is the right one so mess with that at your peril, I would say.” The event, saw former Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield and councillor Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, join CYP Now editor Derren Hayes and MacAlister to discuss if a national service is the future for children’s services in England. Longfield highlighted the benefits of place-based support for children including in schools and planned young futures youth work hubs and Shah called for ring-fenced multi-year funding for councils to better support vulnerable children. Article by Fiona Simpson CYP #baltimore #baltimoredna #baltimorejobs

𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ‘𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦: 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐇𝐒,’ 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 Social care reform will be an area of focus if Liberal Democrat candidate Felicity Cunliffe-Lister is elected the new York and North Yorkshire Mayor, she has pledged. Supporting adult social care helps prevent vulnerable people from needing hospital care, and enables them to return home afterwards, Ms Cunliffe-Lister says. This in turn prevents delayed discharges from hospital, freeing up beds that are needed, not least by accident and emergency departments. This is an area that will receive crucial focus through a collaborative approach, she has promised, working with the councils in the way that they commission care but also lobbying at Westminster for more funding to address the current inequitable distribution. Social care campaigners in the region have welcomed her backing. She said: “If elected, I will be in a position to influence decision-making on social care issues across York and North Yorkshire. There are too many residents currently unable to access care when they need it. There are issues surrounding the current contract arrangements, forcing costs up for care providers and restricting capacity, problems with the visa arrangements, and lack of funding at local government level which creates very difficult recruitment situations. “Supporting and investing in adult social care makes sense on every level. We have to ensure there is adequate care available, either for people in their own home or in residential care to give those people the independence and dignity they deserve.” Mike Padgham, Chair of the social care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG), welcomed Ms Cunliffe-Lister’s support for social care reform. “It is important that, whoever is elected, we have the new Mayor’s support and influence to change the current funding arrangements and address the staffing shortages. “York and North Yorkshire has a significant proportion of older and vulnerable adults within its population, and we will look to the new mayor to take a lead on improving the lives of these citizens as part of their role in regenerating this region. “Many within our area are going without the care they need, and we hope that whoever is elected on Thursday, makes addressing the crisis in social care a high priority.” #socialcare #nhs #adultsocialcare #dignity #independence #yorkandnorthyorkshire #york #northyorkshire #yorkshire #felicity4mayor #felicitycunliffelister

People must know I love social housing by now 💕 .... but I bet a few people I am connected with might not fully understand the importance of supporting social housing across the UK. Here are some reasons why it is essential whoever wins the election on the 4th of July increases support to the sector.... ✔ 🏡 Affordable, Safe Homes - Everyone deserves a safe affordable place to call home - Associations provide around 4.5 million homes in the UK, supporting over 6 million people - Without this homeless numbers would be unthinkable. 💪 Promoting Social Equality - Access to affordable housing is a fundamental human right. Social housing plays a pivotal role in fostering inclusive communities and reducing inequalities, giving everyone a fair chance regardless of their economic background. 🌍 Building Stronger Communities - Stable housing promotes community cohesion. People are more likely to invest in their local areas, participate in community activities, and support each other when they have a permanent place to call home. 👨👩👦👦 Supporting Vulnerable Populations - Many vulnerable groups, including the elderly, disabled, and those with mental health issues, rely on social housing for their specific needs. Tailored support within these communities ensures they live with dignity and care. There are so many more reasons for supporting Housing Associations, but I can save them for another time! 🥁 In the meantime, I'm going to keep banging the social housing drum 🥁 #supportsocialhousing Recruit with Purpose

🏛️ Shropshire Star reports on the results of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) spring survey, which are said to paint “an unsustainable and worrying picture” and are billed as “essential reading” for new Health Secretary Wes Streeting and care minister Stephen Kinnock. 🗣️ Its president, Melanie Williams, said: “This report shows an unsustainable and worrying picture for the four out of five of us needing adult social care in the future and sends a clear message that we can’t keep doing more of the same ... the new Government must shift to investing in more social care, supporting unpaid carers, and providing healthcare in our local community to prevent people reaching crisis point and ending up in hospital in the first place.” 📊 Its survey showed that 90 per cent of directors either have no confidence or are only partially confident their budgets will be sufficient to fully meet their statutory duties in the provision of social care in 2024/25. Council spending between 2022 and 2024 on homecare increased by just over a quarter (27 per cent). Around a quarter of directors reported increases or significant increases in the size of packages of council-funded care from community-based settings in 2023 last year. #adultsocialcare #councils #funding https://lnkd.in/eWa2E-4J

A new report from the Children’s Commissioner reveals a deeply troubling reality. Nearly 800 children, some as young as 2, are being housed in illegal placements like caravans and Airbnbs. The estimated annual cost? £440 million. That’s over half a million pounds per child to place them in unsafe and unsuitable environments. But the real cost is far greater - it’s the devastating impact on these children’s mental health, stability, and futures. This raises a critical question: Why aren’t we doing more to fix foster care? The solution isn’t simply throwing money at recruitment or dismissing these children as “too high need.” The underlying issues are clear: ▪️We don’t have enough foster carers, leading to unsuitable placements, and the underlying reasons why need to be tackled. ▪️Many children develop higher needs due to substandard foster care, caused multiple moves caused by inadequate training, a lack of support, respect and recognition for foster carers ▪️There’s a lack of foster carers equipped to meet the needs of children with higher or more complex needs, something I know, from personal experience, is possible with the right training and support. ▪️Suboptimal commissioning practices further exacerbate the problem. The truth is, the changes needed don’t require massive funding or more people. They require us to do what we already do, but better and differently. We can build a system where children thrive, not just survive. Together, we can make this difference. #FosterCarerEmpowerment https://lnkd.in/e8BSWrUK

An insightful piece about the burden on families to make up for the lack of systematic support for those in adult social care services. 👇 We see examples of stronger practices of integration in Scotland, and learnings we could take from outside the UK, such as supportive living groups for those in care, and practices of making affordable care available for all those who need it. What do you think needs to change to better support those receiving care? 🤔

💰 Mithran Samuel at Community Care reports on the legacy of Conservative rule for adult social care, noting in particular the effects of the decade of “austerity” in the 2010s, during which councils’ available budgets fell by 29 per cent in real terms, leading to spending on social care increasingly only marginally by 2019-20. 📉 According to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), authorities had to make £7.7bn in adult social care savings during the decade to manage increasing demand and cost pressures without extra resources. One result was a significant fall in the number of people who received long-term care, from 872,520 in 2015-16 to 838,530 in 2019-20. 🧾 The middle of the decade saw the implementation of the Care Act 2014, unifying and modernising the previous panoply of social care legislation into one statute. However, critical aspects of the act were not implemented, including rights of appeal against council decisions and the so-called ‘Dilnot’ charging reforms. A 2022 House of Lords committee report declared the legislation a failure. #adultsocialcare #torylegacy #government https://lnkd.in/eMjiMKG9

Stay updated on the latest developments in social services across BC! 🌟 This week's Federation Bulletin (Oct. 2, 2024) covers key topics, including reconciliation, disability support, career opportunities, and more. Don't miss insights into BC's Social Policy Forum 2025 and a feature on the powerful Moose Hide Campaign. Whether you're passionate about advancing social policy, advocating for children and families, or improving community services, this bulletin is for you. 📬 👉 Read the full newsletter and subscribe today: https://lnkd.in/dvrr4SBf #SocialServices #Reconciliation #DisabilitySupport #CommunityAdvocacy #SocialPolicy