UK government accused of ‘delay and drift’ over adult social care talks

The government has been accused of “delay and drift” after it emerged crucial cross-party talks aimed at building political consensus for large-scale changes to adult social care have failed to get off the ground.

The Liberal Democrats said not a single all-party meeting on the issue had taken place in the four months since the government announced ambitious plans to build a national care service to fix the UK’s growing social care crisis.

Wes Streeting said in January that older people could be left without help and the NHS overwhelmed unless a national consensus could be reached on how to fix a system widely regarded as failing.

The health secretary appointed Louise Casey to chair a commission on social care with a brief to build agreement between the main parties on how the changes could be taken forward. Streeting said past attempts at reform had stumbled because of “bad politics”.

Talks were scheduled to open on 26 February but were postponed after ministers said that not all parties could make the meeting. The Lib Dems offered to “clear our diaries” to reschedule but said a new date has not yet been proposed.

Helen Morgan, the Lib Dems’ health and social care spokesperson, said: “If it’s taking almost two months and counting to schedule a single meeting, I have serious concerns about the focus at the top of government needed to successfully undertake and implement this review.

“Ministers’ handling of these cross-party talks smells of a government that has put rescuing social care in the ‘too difficult’ pile.

“Their failure to grasp the nettle means that a review that could have been completed within a year is instead taking three, with ministers risking even longer delays because of their failure to get these talks off the ground.

“For years under the Conservatives, [social care] was shamefully neglected, with patients bearing the brunt. Now, the Labour government is taking an approach of kicking the can down the road rather than facing up to the challenges of fixing this broken system.”

Lady Casey, who was due to join the social care commission this month, was appointed by ministers in mid-January to carry out a three-month report into child sexual abuse grooming gangs. The government has insisted this would not affect her work on the social care commission.

It is understood Casey has promised to convene meetings once her work on the grooming gangs report is complete. A government official said the original date and time for the planned meeting had not worked for all invited parties.

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A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “This government is committed to building national, cross-party consensus to create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all.

“This is why the prime minister has asked Baroness Louise Casey to lead an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards building a national care service.”

Reform of adult social care has been on and off the policy agenda for more than two decades, with attempts by governments of all stripes to overhaul the system repeatedly derailed by political timidity and lack of cross-party consensus.

Social care experts criticised the government in January for putting a three-year timescale on changes that they argued could be put in place with a year. They said the issue was not about how to change social care but agreeing what should be done.

Care providers have urged rapid reform of adult social care, saying the sector faces serious financial problems as a result of the introduction of national insurance and minimum wage rises this month, which have added £2.8bn to their costs.

Many have said they face “tough decisions” as a result of rising unfunded costs, including handing back unviable care contracts to councils and evicting residents, reducing care quality, laying off staff, reducing their hours or freezing pay.