Enough talk about social care, time for action

For the best part of 20 years, successive governments have been talking about 'fixing the crisis in social care', but when faced with the exorbitant amounts of money needed to pay for it, they have invariably kicked the can down the road.

Meanwhile, local councils, which bear the brunt of the ever-growing demands of an ageing population, are being driven to brink of bankruptcy, forced to slash other services while imposing inflation-busting rises in council tax.

This cannot go on. 

In 2023/24, a total of £32 billion was spent on adult social care, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year. And yet the  NHS continues to struggle with patients who do not really need to be in hospital, but cannot be discharged due to a shortage of care places. 

While it is good news Mr Streeting is promising extra money, his failure thus far to commit a figure to it means it will inevitably be met with scepticism. Also, it is more than simply a question of money. As people live longer, and demand continues to grow, extra capacity will be needed in the care system. New care homes will need to be built, and this cannot be done overnight.

Maybe it is time for the Government to be more radical. Instead of placing the burden with struggling local councils, there is a strong argument that the care sector would be better managed by the NHS. If investment in social care means less money spent on caring for patients in hospital beds, there would be a clear incentive for NHS bosses to sort the problem out. 

But there is no such thing as a free lunch, and sooner or later the Government is going to have to come to an unpopular decision. Be it through inheritance tax, income tax, or spending cuts elsewhere, ministers are going to have to grasp the nettle that providing proper care for the elderly and infirm is an expensive business.