‘Radical’ reform needed for Britain’s ‘broken’ care system

The Social Care Foundation (SCF) has today published a new report on the state and future of social care in Britain.

Fair warning, its contents are far from positive.

The report, titled Who Cares? Solutions for the Social Care Review, was created by former Conservative deputy prime minister Damian Green, with an aim to inform the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care – an initiative launched in April 2025.

Within the report, Green outlines that successive Tory and Labour governments have left social care ‘in limbo’.

In his foreword, Green explained: ‘Social Care cannot wait years for a solution to its crisis. It needs radical change in the way it is funded, the way it works with the NHS, the way it uses technology and the way the workforce is valued. These changes need to come quickly.’

Against this backdrop the report makes 35 recommendations, some of which include:

• The creation of a National Care System with money awarded to individuals on the basis of a standardised assessment of entitlement to care
• The introduction of a Health and Care Levy and/or a pension-style care supplement
• The abolition of funding and care provision by councils
• A ‘massive’ increase in later life housing provision with planning policies ‘strengthened’

While the newly announced Case Commission is needed, the report goes further – calling for the appointment of an independent older people’s commissioner and a national ‘My Care’ portal to cut through the confusion of navigating the care system.

‘This report is not just another diagnosis of the challenges facing social care – it is a blueprint for meaningful reform,’ Dr Robert D. Kilgour, founder of the SCF, said. ‘The SCF has brought together practical, evidence-based solutions that can be implemented now to build a fairer, more sustainable system.

‘We invite policymakers across the UK to engage with these ideas and help turn ambition into action.’

The report can be accessed in full here.

Photo by Josh Appel via UnSplash 

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