Labour announces independent commission to reform social care in England

07/01/2025

On January 3rd, the Government announced a significant package of reforms and investments aimed at transforming adult social care in England. The measures include a new independent commission chaired by Baroness Louise Casey and £86 million in additional funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant. These changes aim to ‘enable more disabled and older people to live independently at home, reduce hospital admissions, and ease pressure on the NHS’.

Baroness Louise Casey will lead a new independent commission tasked with delivering long-term reform of adult social care. The commission will focus on building a National Care Service underpinned by national standards and informed by input from people using care services, families, staff, and stakeholders.

With a two-phase approach, the commission will present its first recommendations in 2026 for the medium term, and longer term recommendations by 2028. By this time, a general election will be on the horizon, so it is looking increasingly likely that social care reform is a second term priority for Labour.

Opposition parties have been invited to join the commission to build cross-party consensus on the state and individual responsibilities for social care, addressing rising demands from an ageing population, and shaping the National Care Service. With the timing of the final recommendations, we can only hope that social care reform doesn’t become a campaigning tool or a bargaining chip, and that it can remain a cross-party endeavour.

The Government also plans to harness care technology to improve services, cut red tape between the NHS and social care, and develop a shared digital platform for better information-sharing between providers.

The Government is also aiming to address workforce challenges by expanding the national career structure for care workers. This will expand opportunities for training and development, enabling carers to take on additional duties, such as conducting routine health checks. Funding and implementation plans will need to be robust in order to minimise strain on the already stretched workforce.

Helen Wildbore, director of Care Rights UK, said:

"We are pleased the Government has made concrete its plans for tackling social care reform. The people we support need assurance that these plans will materialise into complete overhaul for the sector, fixing long-neglected problems at the source. We welcome Baroness Casey’s independent commission and look forward to working with her to ensure the commission centres the voices of people needing care - this is the only way to make the changes that are sorely needed.

We are, however, concerned by the proposed timeline for reform. The sector is in crisis and older people needing care simply cannot wait years for change. We urge the Government to shorten their timeframes and deliver plans for reform urgently, to end the indignity of the current crisis.”