The government has pledged to develop a digital platform to share information between NHS and care staff, as part of reforms announced for social care.
The reforms have also promised to fully digitise all care providers by the end of the Parliament and to ‘link up systems’ to speed up and improve care in both hospital and home.
The government also announced an independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock. This will set out recommendations for ‘how to rebuild’ the adult social care system to meet current and future needs of the population.
The first phase of the commission will identify the critical issues and set out recommendations for improvement in the medium term. It will report in 2026. The second phase will look at longer-term reform and will report in 2028.
Health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: ‘The investment and reforms we’re announcing today will help to modernise social care, get it working more closely with the NHS, and help deliver our Plan for Change.’
He added however that longer term action was needed to meet the demands of care in the future.
He said: ‘The independent commission will work to build a national consensus around a new national care service able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century.
‘I have written to opposition parties to invite them to take part in the commission’s work, and asked Baroness Louise Casey to build a cross-party consensus, to ensure the national care service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years.’
In response to the announcement, the chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran MP, said: ‘This announcement from the Government on a commission to look at social care is welcome, however this cannot be an exercise in kicking the can down the road. We urge bravery and courage from the Government and all political parties to work together to act boldly and urgently.
‘We are concerned that any further delay perpetuates the hardship for individuals and their families, as well as the cost to the NHS and local authorities.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the announcement set out some ‘welcome commitments’.
‘The government’s ambition to find a long-term solution for social care is commendable and we urge all parties to work together to create a consensus for action,’ he said. ‘We know that significant change will require difficult choices, but the pressure on social care and impact on the NHS means that governments can no longer kick the can further down the road.
‘But while we wait for the commission to report back it seems likely that the government may need to provide further short-term support for the social care sector – particularly to break the continued cycle of difficult winters the health and care sectors have experienced.’
Nuffield Trust deputy director of policy, Natasha Curry, added: ‘We welcome the additional funding and the measures designed to support the sector in the shorter term. But we remain concerned that this is still insufficient given the immense financial pressure that the sector is under. Social care is facing soaring costs as a result of increases to the National Living Wage and Employer National Insurance Contributions and needs more funding just to keep pace with demand for social care services.
‘The reality is that over the last 30 years, numerous social care commissions and reviews have set out ambitions to achieve lasting reform but failed to deliver due to a lack of sustainable funding and political will. The Spending Review is an important opportunity for this government to make a marked break with the past, and commit the necessary investment into social care.’
It comes as the government announced the social care grant would increase by an additional £200m in 2025/26 on top of the previously planned £680m increase.
