LGA responds to NHS Confederation report on social care

20 Aug 2020 10:18 AM

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to an NHS Confederation report calling for a comprehensive and funded plan to support social care 

“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the incredibly valuable role of social care in its own right and why it is more important than ever before that we find a long-term and sustainable funding solution, so that people of all ages can live the life they want to lead.

“Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS. Every pound invested in council-run services, including social care, helps to relieve pressure on the health service which as this report states is facing a huge backlog of operations.

“We have established our own set of principles, with support from a number of prominent organisations across the health and care sector, to help inform and underpin the Government’s thinking on the future of adult social care in this country.

“The Government and other parties need to begin cross-party talks on the future of adult social care, as soon as possible.”

Notes to editors

Adult social care: seven principles for reform

The LGA represents more than 330 councils of all types across England. We work on behalf of our members to support, promote and improve local government.

It is councils who had led communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Our recent polling shows that 71 per cent of residents trust their council and two thirds are satisfied with the way their local council runs things in their area. Our new discussion paper - Re-thinking Local - sets out how councils must now be empowered to locally-lead the COVID-19 recovery and tackle the economic, environmental and community challenges that we will face as a result of the pandemic.

Social care: time to grasp the nettle