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Dear Resident,  

Successive governments have been promising to fix social care. Most recently, in December 2021 the government published its white paper setting out a 10-year vision for adult social care and providing information on reforms that will be implemented over the next 3 years. However, since then social care reform has again been delayed.  

I need your help to tell the government that we want change now. Will you add your name to this petition?

We are currently witnessing a social care crisis as the system struggles to keep up with an ageing population with increasingly complex care needs. The social care workforce is in decline, with a record 165,000 current vacancies and it is estimated we will eventually need an extra 100,000 social care workers. Delayed discharges from hospitals due to a lack of care in the community is having a knock-on effect on the whole NHS system, this includes the ambulance service. There are no incentives for developers to build supported living which if changed would relieve the pressure on hospitals.  

This crisis will only intensify if we do not act now. Let’s change social care for good. 

I am calling for your support in my campaign to make social care better. Social care is a very personal issue to me due to my father having died with dementia. I understand what people in the social care system must face daily and I want to change this for the better. 

By focusing on four key areas, we can make social care fit for the future. These four key areas are the workforce, use of technology, supported living, and a clear vision on integrated care. 

We need more social care workers and we need to pay them more and train them better. By mirroring social care sector pay with the NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, the retention of social care workers will be improved and it will also support recruitment of more social care workers that we desperately need. NHS roles involving similar skills sets and responsibilities to social care workers receive around £8,036 more pay per year. We do not want to lose valuable social care staff to other jobs due to pay. 

By using the range of technology which is now widely available, we can significantly improve care. Technology, such as assistive technology, can give those in receipt of care more control over their daily lives and keep them in their own homes for longer. 

Finally, we need to build more suitable homes for those who need help. Councils are currently incentivised to reject planning applications for new care homes and prioritise mainstream housing. By streamlining the planning regime and creating a new ‘use class’ of older people housing, developers will be encouraged to enter the retirement market. 

The creation of Integrated Care Boards has given us an opportunity to make a once in a generation improvement in the quality of social care provision. We need to ensure that social care has a powerful voice on these care boards, working together with the NHS to ensure the delivery of care is joined up across organisations and support networks involved in people’s care and support. 

Social care is something each of us will be affected by at some point in our lives and we have a once in a generation chance to fix it. Let us work together to make that happen.

Yours sincerely,

Damian Green