MPs say Casey Commission on social care could be “doomed to failure”

The Casey Commission on social care will fail unless it measures the actual human and financial cost of inaction on social care instead of just emphasising the cost of reforming it, according to a cross-party group of MPs.

The Health and Social Care Committee Inquiry looked to understand the cost of successive governments presenting reform ideas for adult social care and not implementing them.

It found that taxpayers are currently paying £32 billion a year for a broken system, and the government needs a robust financial case for reforms to prevent users from continuing to suffer under the current unsustainable system.

Unpaid carers, who provide care worth £184 billion a year, “equivalent to a second NHS”, are bearing the highest cost from failures to reform adult social care.

• Further reading: Independent Commission on Adult Social Care officially launched
• Viewpoint: Is the Casey Commission on social care another missed opportunity?

It calls on the government to commission research to fully quantify the cost of continued inaction and publish data, including an annual assessment of unmet care needs for adults and an officially published estimate detailing how much delayed discharges cost the NHS annually.

They warn that ignoring the cost of the status quo would leave us all continuing to pay “a high price for a failing system”.

Social care system and the Casey Commission

Layla Moran MP, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said:  “Successive governments have shied away from implementing meaningful reforms to the social care system. But this is an active choice that is no longer tenable. We are living with a broken social care system. It is not providing adequate care to the people who need it, it is creating ever increasing costs for local authorities and the NHS, and it is putting unsustainable pressure on unpaid carers, many of whom have to leave work to care for loved ones. Meanwhile, many paid carers are living in poverty and needing state support in the form of Universal Credit.

“Inaction, and the current state of affairs, are harming those who need care, the people delivering care, the NHS, local government, the Treasury, and the economy. But there is another side to the coin. The social care sector is rarely, if ever, discussed as a driver of economic activity, but it has enormous potential to contribute to the Government’s wider agenda on economic growth and employment.

“In our inquiry, we heard that an investment of £6.1 billion would provide full economic benefits of £10.7 billion – a return on investment of 175%.”

Impact on local authorities and the NHS

MPs also reported that the broken system is straining local authorities’ budgets. An increasingly high proportion of spending on adult social care is crowding out spending on other services, such as fixing potholes, keeping libraries open, and providing youth services.

This leads to a growing disconnect between where council tax revenue is spent and what services residents expect to receive from their council tax.

In addition, social care reform is an integral part of NHS reforms and cannot be a separate process.

Moran added: “While social care is a vital public service in and of itself and should not be valued only for how it supports the NHS, the two systems are inextricably intertwined, and one cannot be reformed without the other.

“In order to achieve this, the Government needs solid data. Our inquiry has found that there is currently a severe lack of granular, numerical data on many aspects of the social care system. The Department of Health and Social Care needs to commission research on the costs that the NHS and the wider economy are bearing as a result of failures in adult social care. Unless the Government measures the true cost of inaction and can make a convincing case to the Treasury, the recommended reforms that come out of the Casey Commission will be doomed to fail,” she said.

Responses to the The Cost of Inaction report

Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at disability charity Leonard Cheshire, said: “This timely and essential report illustrates that as a nation we can no longer afford to neglect adult social care and the needs of disabled and older people.

“Social care is sometimes portrayed as a cost burden and a problem to be fixed. Now there’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform adult social care through developments like a National Care Service informed by the Casey Commission. Social care must be seen as a core part of our nation’s infrastructure and an investment in Britain’s economic growth. Most importantly, it is an investment in the lives of disabled and older people, their families, and our communities.

“Decades of inaction on social care has left a sector burdened by huge challenges and disabled people struggling to get on with their daily lives. But this can change. Disabled people across the UK don’t have to miss out on vital care they need – help with getting up, seeing people close to them, or getting to work.”

Kathryn Smith OBE, Chief Executive of Social Care Institute for Excellence, said: “Whilst the inquiry could not estimate the full cost that we, as a country, are paying for inaction, the case for change is clear. This report provides further sobering confirmation of the deep and systemic challenges facing the social care sector. This evidence is clear: inaction is not an option for the people who rely on care and support, unpaid carers, our NHS and the economy.

“When properly resourced and delivered with compassion and expertise, social care is not a burden on the economy—it is a vital investment in people’s lives and communities. High-quality social care transforms lives, enabling people to live with greater independence, dignity and purpose. Social care done well reduces pressure on the NHS, strengthens community ties, and helps people thrive.

“The social care system may be ‘broken’, but it is not beyond repair. The Casey Commission gives us a real opportunity to get off the merry-go-round of reports and commissions, but nothing by way of lasting change. The Casey Commission has the opportunity to transform the social care sector into a robust, equitable, and efficient system.”

Dominic Carter, Carers Trust Director of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “The committee’s report makes clear that the Casey Commission missed an early opportunity to recognise and value unpaid carers and the need to properly support them. Every day we hear how carers – and the vital services trying so hard to support them – are being pushed to the brink. Things have to change and fast.

“A lack of support for carers comes at a cost to carers and the taxpayer.  A failure to properly fund adult social care leaves millions of carers with no choice but to pick up the pieces of a broken system. Carers, of all ages as highlighted by the Committee, deserve better. It is vital now that Government and Commission both listen and act on the findings of this inquiry.”

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today. She has over 25 years of experience writing for medical journals and trade publications. Subjects include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, disability, insurance, stock market and emerging technologies. She is also a mother to a gorgeous 13-year-old boy who has a learning disability.

See Full Bio