BASW England comments on the King’s Fund report on social care reform

BASW will continue to demand a National Care Service that is built on human rights, values professional expertise, funds care properly, treats social care as a standalone service, and places expert social work at its core.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England welcomes the King's Fund’s contribution to the national debate around social care reform.  

As the Casey Commission continues its work, we completely agree that incremental change is no longer enough, it's time for an end to short term fixes and piecemeal reform of a system that requires a long term vision, sustained investment and political courage to address the deep structural challenges that have persisted for decades. .

Successive reforms have failed to resolve the fundamental weaknesses within the social care system, that places too many people without the support they need and places increasing pressure on the workforce.  

However, any reform that bypasses the vital role of relationship-based practice must be viewed with caution. When people face complex, life changing decisions, they need a regulated professional alongside them who works to clear, rights-based ethical principles whilst navigating intricacies that rigid national systems cannot capture.  

Furthermore, it is our view that introducing assessment of need and eligibility determination at a national level will have little impact on achieving greater fairness. There is no evidence that the National Eligibility Criteria under the Care Act 2014 are interpreted significantly differently across local authorities, nor has this been reported as a concern by the CQC. Instead, the regional variations highlighted in the King's Fund report manifest in care planning, specifically in how eligible needs are met and what funding is allocated. 

While risk-pooling and sustainable central funding offer a vital alternative to the council tax postcode lottery, we believe energy is better spent updating the statutory guidance on personal budgets, which has not changed since 2015, drawing on over a decade of experience to build a transparent care-planning framework.  

As conversations focus on addressing the root causes of a struggling system,  BASW will continue to demand a National Care Service that is built on human rights, values professional expertise, funds care properly, treats social care as a standalone service, and places expert social work at its core. 

To support this, BASW remains ready to facilitate direct collaboration between Baroness Casey, the Commission team, frontline social workers and experts by experience who are vital to shaping these critical discussions.