Report on how to reform social care published

Robin Jackson's report explains why health and social care integration is poor policy and offers instead a practical vision for reform.

Release | 28.03.18

The Centre for Welfare Reform has published a report on how to reform social care.

The report's author Robin Jackson, an academic and expert on social care explains why:

The report offers seven policy proposals:

  1. Create a distinct ministry for social care
  2. Fund social care properly and as a universal entitlement
  3. Create a distinct Social Care Research Council
  4. Create a meaningful training model for social care based on social pedagogy
  5. Return to a social care inspectorate with a local and accountable structure
  6. Create a Social Care Enterprise Agency to foster innovation
  7. Explore the use of national service to engage young people in their communities

The report ends by exploring the role that Ecovillages could play in re-imagining the relationship between citizens and communities.

Essentially, social care policy must be based on an understanding of the basic and distinct integrity of social care. It should no longer be treated as a semi-detached form of healthcare or education.

Dr Simon Duffy, Director of the Centre for Welfare Reform said:

"The Centre is pleased to publish this powerful critique of social care policy. Social care has been savaged by cuts and left unprotected. No effective defence of social care has been mounted by the charities who claim to represent people with disabilities and older people, and no united popular movement has yet arisen to resist injustice - although the emergence of Disabled People Against the Cuts offers some hope. In this political vacuum politicians have been able to get away with the same old nonsense: integration with health will save the day; a new fancy funding formula will compensate for the lack of adequate central funding; increased regulation will keep people safe from increased institutionalisation and abuse. Social care needs to be taken seriously and this report offers a great starting point for addressing the real issues."

The report is free and available to download here.

Also see