D-Day for social care? Crucial cross party talks on social care begin tomorrow

It’s official: tomorrow cross-party talks will begin on the future funding of adult social care, the first such talks since economist Andrew Dilnot was commissioned to analyse the failing existing system and recommend a way forward.

It’s worth remembering what is at stake here. The reason our existing social care system is disintegrating is because of our success as a society in helping people to live longer, and to live more active lives. To give one example: our society used to routinely isolate people with learning disabilities in inhumane long term institutions, with few human rights and few opportunities to live a normal life. This has changed; now the expectation (though not always met, tragically) is that people with learning disabilities will live in their own homes, play a role in their communities, and often work.

These longer lives and greater expectations mean that there is more demand on current social care funding. It cannot cope. Which leaves us with two alternatives. Allow existing recources to become ever more stretched, and watch all this progress go into reverse, with fewer people receiving less support. Or find a way forward with a new and revitalised approach to funding.

It would be nice to say the first is unthinkable, but it is in fact all too possible. That’s why we must concentrate on the second option. The Dilnot Commission recommendations – which include a £1.7bn increase in funding and a £35,000 cap on the amount that an individual is expected to contribute to social care costs – aren’t flawless. We are concerned that people with “mild” or “moderate” support needs may still fall through the gaps. But it does provide solid foundations for improving support for disabled people.

That’s why it’s so important that when the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems meet tomorrow to discuss reforming the system, they lay aside the differences that have plagued such efforts for 25 long years. There is no more time to waste.

They must also ensure that whatever path forward they choose, it is one that works for all recipients of social care. Most media attention has focused on the elderly but younger adults with disabilities rely just as much on social care, so it is crucial that we get a system that works for all before we can begin capping costs.

To illustrate the point, we have just released a report created by people with learning disabilities and their families called Life Support, the title chosen to show just how essential social care is to them every day.

In the report people with learning disabilities talk about how support helps them with the basics of living and keeps them safe, but also helps them to work, to contribute their energies and passions to their communities and to live the lives the rest of us take for granted. One mother says her son’s support is the difference between “just a daily existence” and a “fulfilling and useful life”. We will ensure each of the parties has a copy of Life Support to consider as they make what may be one of the biggest political decisions of their career.

The Government should be congratulated on commissioning Dilnot and laying the groundwork for the revitilisation of social care that must now happen. Now the tough decisions and investment Dilnot is demanding must be borne. The alternative is that without reform, more and more people will lose their support and thousands would see their physical and mental health deteriorate. This would cost our country a lot more in the long run financially, but the moral cost would be incalculable.

Jaime Gill, head of press and public affairs.