Adult social care green paper due out in July

The long-awaited green paper on adult social care funding will be published next month, health secretary Andy Burnham confirmed yesterday in Parliament.

In this year’s Budget in April, the government pledged to publish the green paper in June, but Burnham told the House of Commons yesterday that the policy paper would be put out “in early July”.

Care services minister Phil Hope later told the Commons that publication of the document – which will set out options for the long-term reform of the funding of adult care – would take place “in a few weeks”.

‘Radical’

He said that it would be “radical” and would “spell out what we will do in future to ensure that people get high-quality care, and that they have choice and control over that care”.

Hope added: “We will make sure that the system is fair, transparent, simple and affordable for all.”

Adult care workforce development body Skills for Care welcomed the announcement and said the government would conduct a 16-week consultation on the green paper – longer than the traditional three-month period.

Chief executive Andrea Rowe said: “As the sector skills council with responsibility for working with 35,000 adult social care employers the green paper is a hugely important document for us and we will play a full part in the sixteen week consultation period to make sure the voices of employers and 1.5 million care workers are heard.”

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