06/01/2025   LinCA comment re: Adult Social Care Commission

The Lincolnshire Care Association welcomes the announcement today that Baroness Casey of Blackstock is to chair an independent commission into adult social care to inform the work needed to create a National Care Service.

This is an excellent way to start the new year.

We also welcome the short-term measures to improve adult social care, support the workforce and keep older people out of hospital and living at home independently for longer.

In its first phase the commission will identify the critical issues facing adult social care and set out recommendations for effective reform and improvement in the medium term. 

It will recommend tangible, pragmatic solutions that can be implemented in a phased way to lay the foundations for a National Care Service. The recommendations of this phase will be aligned with existing and projected spending commitments by government.  

In its second phase the commission will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care. It will look at the model of care needed to address our ageing population, how services should be organised to deliver this, and how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all.  

Opposition parties have been invited to take part in the commission, with the aim of building a cross-party and national consensus on the responsibilities the state and individuals have for social care, how to meet the rising demands caused by an ageing population, and how best to structure the National Care Service. 

“Care associations up and down the country are excited to support the work of government and to create a sustainable future for our adult social care sector,” said Melanie Weatherley MBE, Chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association.

“We are grateful to the government for listening to partners across the sector, and for recognising the opportunities that exist.

“We welcome the fact that the commission will focus not just on who pays for social care, but also on much needed wider reforms to the sector.

“However, the need for reform is urgent, and we urge Baroness Casey and the government to start phase one of the commission without delay.

“We look forward to getting involved in this vital piece of work, which aims to transform adult social care in this country.”