Carers Week legacy – better social care

We’re midway through Carers Week and we have yet to see a wider debate about the major challenges which profoundly affect carers’ lives.  One of these is our creaking social care system. Campaigners are loudly calling for the “Care Tax” to be scrapped; it is clear that families increasingly cannot afford to pay for the vital support which helps them with care and support needs – washing, dressing and getting out into their communities. Families are altered irrevocably because of an increasingly substantial chasm in care. It cannot be a solution to seek to plug some of that gap by charging people for services that are utterly vital to daily life. When people can’t afford to eat or heat their homes as a result of these charges, we need to take a long hard look at ourselves and our values as a nation. The perfect storm of public sector and welfare cuts has left many carers and their families struggling just to live. For too long, social care has been the Cinderella service, which takes the hit when cuts need to be made. Valued services are disappearing or families are priced out of existing services because of inadequate personal care budgets. The result – thousands give up work to care, whilst those we care for become more isolated.

The perfect storm of public sector and welfare cuts has left many carers and their families struggling just to live.

Many of us in the third sector are increasingly arguing for social care to be seen as an infrastructure investment with quantifiable value to the economy. It is a key enabler, supporting the economic and social contribution of disabled people and their families. And of course, social care is also about fulfilling the most basic of human rights – for example, gaining access to food, toileting and being able to get up and out to do the things which those of us who are able take for granted. Yet, we continue to "procure" care in the same way we procure desks or pencils.  "Contracting out" of services which are deeply valued by carers and their families is often counterproductive - we create more demand, not less. Access to social care must also be a fundamental right - the right to live your life as others do. It cannot be measured in unit costs and outputs. As our society and our population continue to evolve, it’s time for a root and branch review of social care; of charging; of the legislation which seems to drive the wrong behaviour in a system which is meant to help people achieve their aspirations. Tinkering at the edges of this fractured system is no longer good enough. The future of social care is an issue which extends beyond party politics - it's about the kind of society we want to be, and it's about the aspirations we have for ALL of our citizens. Social care should be part of a compassionate, enriching welfare state. This premise must be the basis for a full and frank debate – that must be the legacy of Carers' Week.