Casey’s Review Of Adult Social Care Offers Hope | Letters

Louise Casey whitethorn person nan powerfulness of words down her (The blistering reside that tells maine Britain’s societal attraction deadlock tin yet beryllium broken, 10 March), but what she’s uncovered is simply a truth that section authorities person been voicing for years: nan nationalist attraction work will neglect unless ministers stabilise nan section systems that underpin it.

Key Cities (a cross-party web of UK section authorities) has agelong been calling for an urgent backing reset for nan societal attraction system. And while nan Casey commission’s reforms are welcome, what’s still missing is nan modulation plan to alteration councils to make this happen. A cardinal portion of nan government’s NHS 10‑year scheme must beryllium a important description of associated commissioning, crossed location and nationalist scales. This collaboration will yet extremity nan costly push‑pull betwixt those who money and those who present attraction and, vitally, laic nan foundations for effective translator from section to nationalist provision.

Polly Toynbee is correct that councils person been buckling nether pressure, but what astir what we’ve learned and nan solutions we tin contribute? Years connected nan frontline person taught america that prevention is conscionable arsenic important arsenic entree to urgent care, and we’ve developed effective models that trim situation demand. With nan correct powers, councils could build nan attraction homes that communities request and trial caller approaches done invention hubs and pilots. We besides cognize that nary of this is viable without a nationalist workforce strategy that aligns societal attraction pay, training and profession pathways to reside retention and improve profession prospects.

Plugging nan spread successful assembly finances mightiness look for illustration a mammoth task, but it’s besides a erstwhile successful a procreation opportunity to unafraid amended wellness outcomes, amended lives and wider prosperity. Get nan modulation correct and we tin free up assembly budgets for nan lodging and regeneration that underpin amended wellness outcomes successful nan first place. Get it incorrect and nan caller strategy will inherit nan aforesaid dysfunctions of nan aged one.
Cllr John Merry
Chair, Key Cities; lawman mayor, Salford

Money is not nan problem. Social care for each property groups is simply a section and organization request and responsibility. It should truthful beryllium provided and tally locally by comparatively small, directly responsive, community‑based organisations. There is nary 1 perfect model, but a national aliases location attack will not activity because nan organization connection, power and oversight is lost.

Whether we are talking astir older group aliases children, overmuch of nan existent privatised strategy of attraction is of mediocre value and precocious cost, and is crippling section authorities finances while enriching companies, galore of which are based successful taxation havens. Wages are debased and conditions of employment are poor.

The well-off are being fleeced successful alleged “luxury” attraction homes, which supply hotel-type accommodation but mostly mediocre care. The not-so-well-off struggle to spend location attraction and residential/nursing location fees. And past location are thousands of mediocre group who can’t get immoderate thief astatine all. Money is not nan problem and ne'er has been. There’s plentifulness of money, but it’s not good spent. It’s going retired of nan strategy alternatively than into it.

Among nan savings to beryllium made is closing nan Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is very costly to tally and hardly ever uncovers mediocre attraction that hasn’t already been spotted by personification else, and moreover past it takes nary action. CQC has stopped visiting galore attraction homes altogether, and has hugely accrued nan bureaucratic and administrative load connected each societal care, making life moreover much costly and difficult for nan small, section providers.
John Burton
Author of Leading Good Care: The Task, Heart and Art of Managing Social Care

I publication pinch liking Polly Toynbee’s comments. I would gladly person paid £20,000 connected status to debar nan perpetual worry complete finances that I now face. My hubby went into a attraction location successful February 2025. The play interest is £1,417.95. He has not had to waste nan level I unrecorded in, arsenic it’s my only home. We salary his fees by nonstop debit and I americium watching arsenic our lives’ savings dwindle.

In a fewer weeks’ clip they will beryllium down to £23,250, and past I will person to complete a shape and taxable grounds that what I participate connected it is existent pinch supporting documents: slope statements, confirmation that I’ve liquidated his Isa, paid for water, state and energy and truthful forth. I americium 83 and nan worries are ruining my aged age, which I naively thought, erstwhile I was younger, would beryllium restful. I effort to economise, though I subscribe to nan Guardian because I dream that reading it helps support my brain active.
Name and reside supplied

As Polly Toynbee suggests, nan mobility of really to money societal attraction has, for illustration nan Grand Old Duke of York’s men, been marched to nan apical of nan elevation and down again 22 times and counting since 1997. I would propose that nan reply has been tiptoed around, and mooted successful various guides, since then, but discarded by gutless governments incapable to look tabloid criticism.

After 30 years moving successful wellness and societal attraction settings, and 20 years retirement, it seems evident to maine that income taxation and nationalist security should beryllium merged, arsenic a progressive tax. National security was introduced erstwhile mean life expectancy was successful nan early to mid-50s. It’s now adjacent to 30 years supra that, depending connected wherever you unrecorded of course.

If Louise Casey is looking for options for expanding funding, I would propose that she should springiness this exemplary superior consideration. What’s not adjacent astir it? That measurement we’re each chipping successful according to our means.
Mike Smith
Southampton

Louise Casey is correct that societal attraction has ne'er had its “Beveridge moment” (Louise Casey: England’s societal attraction strategy faces ‘moment of reckoning’, 6 March). When William Beveridge’s study was published successful 1942 – successful nan mediate of a war, pinch nan system nether utmost strain – group queued extracurricular nan Government Stationery Office successful Kingsway, London, successful their thousands to bargain a copy.

What we person had instead, successful 22 awesome reviews complete nan past 30 years, is thing person to a building that everyone agrees is structurally unsound. Each study confirms nan cracks. Each study recommends underpinning. And each time, nan owners determine nan infinitesimal isn’t rather right, nan costs are unclear, and possibly nan adjacent study will tell us thing different.

Meanwhile nan group surviving wrong it – aged people, abnormal group and attraction workers who are paid hardly supra nan legal minimum costs – are near to negociate pinch “sticking plasters and glue”, successful Casey’s ain words.

A infinitesimal of reckoning, she calls it. With respect, we person had 22 of those. What we person not yet had is simply a authorities consenting to enactment connected one.
Simon Spiller
Budleigh Salterton, Devon