A report by the Adult Social Care Committee has called on the government to provide long-term funding and establish a commissioner for care.

The committee’s report, A gloriously ordinary life, calls for greater visibility for social care, as well as greater choice and control for disabled adults and older people, and a better deal for unpaid carers.

Baroness Andrews, committee chair, said: “In this report we have revealed the impact that the invisibility of the adult social care sector as a whole has on the way we perceive and provide for adult social care. Our recommendations are intended to bring those who draw on and provide unpaid care into the daylight and that starts with changing the perceptions around care, providing the realistic financial and workforce strategies that are long overdue, and planning for a system responsive to present needs and resilient for the future.

“All that will help the unpaid carer now so often at risk of poverty and ill health with a better future. But we want a better present for them too – and our specific recommendations for their support will deliver that.”

The committee’s recommendations include:

• Delivering realistic, predictable and long-term funding
• Delivering a properly resourced plan for supporting a highly valued workforce, building skills and remedying low pay
• Establishing a powerful Commissioner for Care and Support to strengthen the voice and identity of the sector
• Fully implementing the principles of the Care Act 2014, rooted in wellbeing, choice, and control
• Ensuring that the voice of social care is loud and clear within Integrated Care Systems.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “This new report lays bare the multiple impacts to older people and their carers trying to live well and fitfully while navigating the tyranny of a broken care system.

“The Lords’ recommendations will hopefully shed new light on the current problems the sector faces and highlight the need to rethink the overall approach to solving the problem. There’s no avoiding the need to improve pay and conditions within social care, to retain staff who often go above and beyond, and ramp up funding and support those who are unpaid carers desperately looking after loved ones at home.

“Social care needs long term sustainable funding to give providers the ability to plan ahead and staff the confidence to stay. Giving care to older and disabled people who need it is hugely rewarding but we can’t expect staff to do it for poverty pay.” 

Care Provider Alliance, Kathy Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Mental Health Providers, said: “We welcome the committee’s report of ‘a gloriously ordinary life’ highlighting the importance and relevance to of care and support provided to millions of people everyday across the UK.

“It further echoes the calls made this November in our briefing for reform to be fully inclusive; our social care landscape must be viewed from a much wider lens, to include mental health, shared lives, physical and learning disabilities and autism service providers.”

“In 2019, the Conservative Party made a clear manifesto promise to ‘fix social care’ making it fit for the future and sustainable. Despite the introduction of a reform programme for adult social care, ongoing funding and workforce pressures are systemic in all areas of the country.

“It is widely acknowledged that social care and support services have inadequate funding, the gap being in excess of £7 billion, and the rising costs of living are only adding to the structural instability we face.

“We applaud the fact that the committee has brought to light the millions of carers working to protecting the lives of individuals. On behalf of CPA we call on the government to rapidly intervene and ensure nobody has to ‘fight’ to have choice and control within their life.”

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said: “The adult social care committee is showing the leadership that is lacking in the government. The committee have acknowledged the essential role that social care plays in the lives of our citizens and have made some clear recommendations. If these recommendations were implemented, we would see a strong social care sector, fit for purpose in the 21st-century and sustainable into the future.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We want to ensure our health and social care system provides the care people need, when they need it. That is why it was prioritised health in the Autumn Statement and up to £7.5 billion will be made available to support adult social care over the next two years – the biggest funding increase in history.

“Specifically for unpaid carers, we are also providing local authorities with over £290 million for short breaks and respite services, as well as additional advice and support.

“We have also launched our annual domestic recruitment campaign, Made With Care, to encourage people to take up a career in adult social care and are also investing £15 million to increase international recruitment into the sector.”