A National Care Service for all

The Fabian Society has published 'Support guaranteed: The roadmap to a national care service', a plan on how to deliver on the Labour party’s ambition to create a National Care Service.

The comprehensive paper sets out a blueprint of what it could look like and how it should be implemented, offering a set of high value statements about the purpose of universal social care and what it proposes: from person-centred care and coproduction to prevention and early intervention.

It backs this up with 48 independent recommendations, several referring to housing with care and technology to support people live independently at home.

The proposals include:

giving everyone access to support
offering stronger rights to people with greater control and choice over the support the get
providing a new public service delivered in partnership with national and local government along with licensed care providers
a sector-wide Fair Pay Agreement with greater parity between social care and NHS jobs
creating a more affordable charging system, with consideration of support free for people with lifelong disabilities.

And of particular interest to Housing LIN members will be some of the following recommendations seen as part of a series of building blocks to transform local integrated care and support systems, services and supply of new models of social care:

incorporate the UN right to independent living into domestic law "to guarantee everyone the support they need to live a good life, in a place they choose, with the relationships and community they want"
promote models of housing with care by creating a new planning use class of 'housing with care' and requiring adult care and planning department to work together
ensure local planning authorities are also required to identify and deliver an adequate number of housing with care and independent living units to meet population needs.
promote models of housing with care calling for a major expansion of housing with care and supported living schemes, supported by co-production and evidence
term investment in modern care homes, specialist housing and technology by creating a public sector National Care Service investment fund
rapid expansion in use of technology and data in all aspects of care and support
the National Care Service should partner with and shape the independent living technology market and promote the application of mainstream technologies in
care and support contexts, with the aim of achieving more holistic and personalised care, tackling isolation and loneliness, and reducing safety risks
expand preventive open-access support including home adaptations.