A new report commissioned by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York has called for a National Care Covenant for England to transform adult social care.

‘Care and Support Reimagined: a National Care Covenant for England’ – the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care sets out three actions to realise a new vision for care and support: rethinking attitudes to care and support; rebalancing roles and responsibilities; and redesigning the social care system.

The Commission, which was launched by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in April 2021, calls for the National Care Covenant to be developed through a national dialogue which sets out the roles and responsibilities of government, communities, families and individuals.

Key elements of the Covenant are: investment in communities; a stronger role for the state; and a new deal for unpaid carers.

The report makes radical recommendations for redesigning the care system with a long-term aspiration of making care and support a universal entitlement, including: simplified assessment that leads to a guaranteed budget; people being trusted to manage their own care and decide what help they need; and independent advocacy to help people to access their rights and entitlements.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, said: “This report gives me hope that we can rise to the challenge of fixing our broken social care system. Jesus Christ offers every human being life in all its fullness, and so we must broaden our understanding of care and support as the means by which everyone, regardless of age or ability, can experience abundant life. Rooted in the right values, the development of a National Care Covenant is a step towards this, where everyone is engaged in a collaborative effort to ensure that we can all access the care and support we need.”

Sam Monaghan, chief executive of Methodist Homes (MHA), welcomed the report, commenting: “Report after report over decades have highlighted how reform is needed yet, when we thought reform was starting in 2021, the government halted it with no plans on when it might start again. It is time for the government to engage with care providers and find out from them exactly what is needed.”

Kirsty Matthews, chief executive of national learning disability charity, Hft, said: “Whilst the government has attempted social care reform in the short-term, most recently with its announcement of an extra £250 million to pay for care home beds, there has been little to no meaningful reform that adequately addresses the long-term challenges facing our sector. The Archbishops’ Commission’s long-term vision is therefore both refreshing and necessary to ensure the sustainability of our sector.”

Matthews also welcomed the report’s focus on the negative attitudes people receiving care and support, including adults with a learning disability, might face, highlighting that such attitudes are a barrier to meaningful change.

ADASS president, Sarah McClinton, and joint chief executive, Sheila Norris, said: “The report rightly concludes that tinkering around the edges is no longer an option. We need Government to provide the conditions for adult social care to undertake long-term planning, investment and reform as a matter of urgency.

“Social care is in the midst of one of, if not the, most challenging winters in recent memory. We must recognise that long-term sustainable investment is needed in home and community- based care and support, the social care workforce and family carers so that social care becomes a right not a fight.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to working with a range of stakeholders on how best to improve adult social care and we have made up to £7.5 billion available over the next two years to support services – the biggest funding increase in history.

“The government has made progress on implementing the 10-year vision set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in 2021. This includes boosting workforce capacity, supporting sector digitisation, developing our approach for improving oversight of the adult social care system, and enhancing the collection and use of data.

“In spring we will publish a plan for adult social care system reform, setting out how we will build on this progress over the next two years.”