By Mike McNabb
Adult care has hit the headlines again with prime minister Gordon Brown wanting to open a debate on its future. It was a debate welcomed by Stephen Burke, chief executive of Counsel and Care.
But will the government be bold, as Burke urged it to be. If it does listen to him, it would have to address the issues of rationing and tighter eligibilty criteria which were restricting its aims.
Burke said any vision for adult care had to be broad ranging, with the postcode lottery something that needed to be resolved. Services, he said, had to be flexible, personal and consistent. Universal entitlement would give everyone a buy-in to the future.
Universal advice and advocacy would aid service user gain control and support. And better choices for housing and access to home repairs and adaptations as well as home safety checks would benefit older people. It would be like extending Sure Start to older people.
Another key element was funding. It was not the $64bn question but the £6bn question, Burke said. Should funding come from a social insurance scheme or should it be through taxation? He suggested one solution to be for a care duty to be levied on inheritance estates above £10,000.
Sarah Pickup, Hertfordshire Council's adult care director, raised the subject of people who missed on benefits entitlement, pointing out that it was those who most needed them most who went without. And those who were paying for residential care were left with too little.
She said the impact on workforce must be considered. But different types of provider were needed as people articulate what they want. Staff may need to work differently so learning and development must be there to meet changing demands. And accessible information is vital - not just on the internet but by having someone available in a village hall on Friday afternoon.
Madeleine Starr, of Carers UK, emphasised that it was human nature to care but any new system must treat unpaid carers as partners in service delivery. And they should be treated as living normal lives.
People wanted a system that worked for them, she said, and one that was universal. It was also about having a system that saw leisure and transport as well as part of the social care remit.
The economic system had to evolve to embrace carers and caring. It would be one that allowed carers to maintain an economic life as well as a personal one. It would form part of a new social contract for care.