On Wednesday 1 December, the Government published its adult
social care reform white paper, which sets out its ten-year vision
to improve adult social care and provides information on funding
proposals that will be implemented over the next few years.
The Prime Minister had previously announced a £5.4billion health
& care levy for reform of the adult social care system and at
the Autumn Spending Review 2021 it was confirmed that £1.7 billion
of this funding would be for major improvements across the adult
social care system.
The white paper published on 1 December, "People at the heart of
care: Adult social care reform", sets out further details on how
this money will be spent to begin to transform the adult social
care system in England, including new investments in:
- housing and home adaptations
- technology and digitisation
- workforce training and wellbeing support
- support for unpaid carers and better information &
advice
- innovation & improvement
This will include funding to improve physical, digital and
technological infrastructure, such as supported housing and repairs
and changes in people's homes, technology and digitisation, such as
acoustic sensors and digital care records, and training and
qualifications for the adult social care workforce.
At least £300 million will be available to integrate housing
into local health and care strategies, with a focus on increasing
the range of new supported housing options available to provide
choice of alternative housing and support options.
The white paper also promises a new practical support service to
make minor repairs and changes in peoples' homes to help people
remain independent and safe in their home, alongside increasing the
upper limit of the Disabilities Facilities Grant for home
adaptations such as stairlifts, wetrooms and home technologies.
The white paper "People at the heart of care: Adult social care
reform" is available to download on the government website.
ARCH Policy Adviser Matthew Warburton has produced an ARCH Policy Briefing on the housing
implications of the white paper.
The Government promises to work with local authorities, housing
providers and others to agree how to target new investment in
housing and to design new Innovative Models of Care Programme that
will support local places to bring proven innovations from the
margins to the mainstream.
The Government will be consulting on the detail of the changes
to the upper limit for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and say
they will be working with partners across the Housing Sector and
wider to better understand the opportunities to drive more choice
for older peoples' housing.