SHA POLICY ON ADULT SOCIAL CARE AND CARERS
This policy document is our first significant step towards a more complete statement on social care. It will require further work over time with our members and others. It fleshes out the motion that we carried about a year ago which reads as follows:
RESCUING SOCIAL CARE
England’s Social Care system is broken. Local Authorities faced £700m cuts in 2018-9 with £7 billion slashed since 2010. 26% fewer elderly receive support, demand grows.
People face isolation, indignity, maltreatment, neglect, barriers to inclusion and independent living.
Most care is privatised, not reflecting user needs/wishes. Public money goes to shareholders and hedge funds as profits. Service users and families face instability as companies go bust.
Staff wages, training and conditions are slashed. Staff turnover is 30+%.
8 million unpaid, overworked family carers, including children and the elderly, provide vital support.
Conference demands Labour legislates a duty on the SoS to provide a universal system of social care and support acknowledging a right to independent living wherever possible:
- Based on need and offering choice.
- Meeting the needs of all disabled, frail and sick throughout life with robust safeguarding procedures.
- Free at the point of use, universally provided, fully funded through progressive taxation
- Subject to national standards based on Human Rights, choice, dignity and respect for all, complying with the UN Rights of persons with disabilities, including Articles on Independent Living (19) Highest Attainable Health (25) and Education (24).
- Democratically run services, delivered through local public bodies working co-productively together with users and carers.
- Training to nationally agreed qualifications, career structure, pay and conditions.
- Gives informal carers strong rights and support, including finances and mental health.
Labour to establish a taskforce involving users and carers/Trade Unions/relevant organisations to deliver the above, including an independent advocate system, and national independent living support service.
FOR INFORMATION
National independent living service – from the ROFA document https://www.rofa.org.uk/independent-living-for-the-future/
The social care element of Disabled people’s right to independent living will be administered through a new national independent living service managed by central government, but delivered locally in co-production with Disabled people. It will be provided on the basis of need, not profit, and will not be means tested. It will be independent of, but sit alongside, the NHS and will be funded from direct taxation.
The national independent living service will be responsible for supporting disabled people through the self-assessment/assessment process, reviews and administering payments to individual Disabled people. Individuals will not be obliged to manage their support payments themselves if they choose not to.
Authored by Brian Fisher and a group of SHA experts and those with lived experience?
Full document for downloading in both PDF and Doc format.