Archbishops’ Commission launches new vision for social care

A new vision to fix the ‘broken’ social care system has been proposed by the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care, which aims to rethink attitudes to care and support by investing in communities and giving unpaid carers a better deal.

The report, Care and Support Reimagined, calls for a system that enables people “to live the best lives they can”, not just meet basic requirements. It says that people should have a choice about who cares for them and who provides care.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said they wanted to “rebuild something broken”. In their foreward to the report, they added that this vision requires a fundamental reorientation of our priorities and direction to strive for a society in which no one is held back or disregarded, or treated as surplus and ‘just a burden’ because of their age or ability.

The Commission was launched by the Archbishops in April 2021 and calls for a National Care Covenant, developed through national dialogue, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of government, communities, families and individuals.

The review concluded that social care must become a “universal entitlement on a par with the NHS” rather than rationed by the “meanest of means tests”. It proposes that the extra £15bn a year cost would be funded through taxes.

Negative attitudes to ageing must be tackled

The report argues that tackling negative attitudes to ageing and disability must be the starting point to reimagining care and support. Furthermore, the report makes radical recommendations for redesigning the care system, with a long-term aspiration of making care and support a universal entitlement, including:

• Simplified assessment that leads to a guaranteed budget
• People being trusted to manage their own care and decide what help they need
• Independent advocacy to help people to access their rights and entitlements.

The Commission recognises the lack of progress that has been made in implementing the proposals of previous high-profile reports, and highlights the need for a broad coalition – including politicians, faith communities, charities, and user-led organisations – to take action.

It says that most of us will need some kind of care and support at some point in our lives. Longer lives and medical advances mean that social care has become a universal need, no longer confined to a minority of people who too often have been marginalised and invisible. Providing care and support and paying for it, therefore, should involve a shared responsibility across society

New deal for carers

Carers UK welcomed the report and said it was clear in the evidence provided to the Commission that many carers are exhausted, overlooked and stretched to the limit.

The report said that level of financial support for carers should reflect the hours and intensity of their care. Currently Carer’s Allowance is £69.70 per week if you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week. There is a need for the level of Carer’s Allowance to be urgently reviewed.

It added that when so many unpaid carers are forced to reduce their hours or even quit their jobs, we need to make it easier for carers who are working to manage to continue working. The government needs to legislate to require employers to provide Carer’s Leave, including
paid leave and rights to request flexibility from day one of hire.

Other recommended actions include the opportunity for rest through the availability of different types of breaks to suit people’s caring circumstances and greater recognition of unpaid carers, together with provision of proactive advice and support from voluntary and statutory agencies.

“Emily Holzhausen OBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK, said: “The proposed New Deal recognises these challenges, and how restorative breaks, better funding and a change in approach could support unpaid carers, especially those with demanding roles, to take time out to look after their own health and wellbeing. Many carers feel that Carer’s Allowance does not come anywhere close to helping them manage financially while caring for 35 hours or more a week, and we would welcome a review of the benefit.

“We look forward to shining a light on the best practice for supporting carers in England and we urge the government to implement the elements of this New Deal so that unpaid carers have the fulfilling life that they need and deserve.”

The Commission said to achieve this, there needs to be an immediate increase in funding to enable local authorities to meet unmet critical needs and/or wrongly met needs, some moderate needs and a universal offer of early intervention and community-based support. There also needs to be new and stronger mechanisms to ensure existing rights to care and support are upheld.

Chair of the Commission, Dr Anna Dixon MBE, said: “Our reimagined vision for care and support puts relationships at the centre and encourages us to think about how social care can enable everyone to live well. This is no time for tinkering around the edges of a social care system that for too long has left people who draw on care and support feeling marginalised, carers feeling exhausted and undervalued, a system which provides no clarity about what is expected of each of us. A National Care Covenant, with its focus on the mutual responsibilities, will help us to work together towards our common goal.”