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The government has produced important policy initiatives on the future of health and social care and a strategy for ageing. This resource provides easy access to the policy documents, reports and briefings that are raising the profile of issues around the care of older people and the implications of an ageing population. |
Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill
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On 26 June 2008, the Government Equalities Office announced new measures to streamline and strengthen discrimination legislation, including banning age discrimination. The proposals include making age discrimination illegal in the provision of goods, facilities and services and extending the public sector equality duty to include age so that older people's needs are taken into account in public services. A comprehensive paper on the content of the Equality Bill will be published later this summer, which will include the response to the Discrimination Law Review: A Framework for Fairness consultation. The Bill is expected to be introduced in the next Parliamentary session, which starts in December 2008. Read Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill here. |
Transforming the Quality of Dementia Care Consultation on a National Dementia Strategy |
The Department of Health launched on 19 June 2008 a consultation on a national strategy for dementia services. The consultation document draws on evidence obtained from a wide range of organisations, practitioners and service users. The DH is inviting everyone to give their views on the ideas set out in the document as well as contributing new ideas to the debate. Responses should be submitted to DH by 11 September 2008. Read the consultation document. |
| National Debate on the Future of Care and Support | On 12 May 2008 the government launched a six month debate about the future shape of care and support services. During this period it will hold a series of regional events to ask the public and stakeholders for their views about care and support to create a new system. The Department of Health also launched a £31million programme to test the potential of innovative technologies like telecare in supporting care for those with complex health and social care needs.
A new national website http://www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk provides more details. |
Independent Living A cross-government strategy about independent living for disabled people
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The Independent Living Strategy was launched on 3 March 2008 by the Office for Disability Issues. The five-year strategy joins current and new policy initiatives to provide a coherent framework for making progress towards independent living for disabled people, including older disabled people. 'Independent living' means not necessarily doing things for oneself, but having choice over support and equipment, and equal access to public services and opportunities. The strategy aims to give disabled people more choice and control over the support they need and greater access to employment, transport, health and housing opportunities. The strategy makes a series of new commitments involving six government departments. Read the Executive Summary here. |
Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods A national strategy for housing in an ageing society |
The cross-government housing strategy published 25 February 2008 sets out a plan to provide better homes for older people and increase their housing options beyond care homes and sheltered housing. To help older people live independently in their own homes, the government aims to provide a national housing and advice information service linked with local housing information services; introduce new rapid repairs and adaptation services; and increase funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant. All publicly funded homes will have to be built to Lifetime Homes Standards by 2011, with the expectation that all new homes will be built to LTHS by 2013; there will be improved joined-up assessment, service provision and commissioning across housing, health and care; and the government will work towards a new positive vision for specialised housing. Read the strategy here. For more details of the strategy and accompanying documentation click here. |
The State of Social Care in England 2006-07 The Commission for Social Care Inspection's annual report to Parliament |
The third annual report on the state of social care published 29 January 2008 reveals there is a sharp divide between people who do and do not qualify for social care. People who are not receiving support from local authorities are struggling with a poor quality of life. People who do qualify for council support are having a better experience than before. People who only five years ago qualified for council-arranged help are today excluded by the system and left to fend for themselves. The report includes new research which shows that who does or doesn’t get help varies not only between but also within the same council. In practice the criteria can be interpreted in different ways by local staff. Read the summary version here. |
| Transforming Social Care | The Department of Health has issued (January 2008) a circular to local authorities which sets out information to support the transformation of social care as signalled in the Department of Health's social care Green Paper, 'Independence, well-being and choice' (2005) and reinforced in the White Paper, 'Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services' in 2006. It describes the vision for development of a personalised approach to the delivery of adult social care and context in which this policy is grounded. Read the circular here. |
| Care Calculator | The BBC and London School of Economics have worked together to provide a tool that estimates the cost of care. The Care Calculator aims to provide general information about social care provision for adults. It will give you an approximate idea of the level of social care currently provided in parts of the UK. It also includes a Care Map and a Care Questionnaire. The items are part of the BBC Radio 4 investigation into the state of care in the UK, January 2008. |
Putting People First A shared vision and |
This ministerial concordat, published in December 2007, sets out the shared aims and values which will guide the transformation of adult social care, and recognises that the sector will work across shared agendas with users and carers to transform people’s experience of local support and services. It establishes the collaboration between central and local government, the sector's professional leadership, providers and the regulator to put people first through a reform of public services, enabling people to live their own lives as they wish and promote their own individual needs for independence, wellbeing and dignity. Read the concordat here. |
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Meeting the Aspirations of the British People 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review, October 2007 |
The full 2007 Pre-Budget Report can be accessed here. The government identifies demographic and socio-economic change, with rapid increases in old age dependency ratio and rising consumer expectations of public services as one of the long-term challenges it must respond to. The government proposes to fund the delivery of more personalised adult social care that will give people greater choice and control, empowering people to live independent lives and announces plans to consult on the reform of adult care and support systems. For more details of the proposals relating to older people, click here. |
| Tackle Poverty and Promote Greater Independence and Well-being in Later Life | Public Service Agreement (PSA) 17 issued by the Department for Work on Pensions in October 2007 seeks to ensure that the specific needs of the older population are given due priority. It sets out the outcomes the government seeks to achieve in the Comprehensive Spending Review period to promote improvements in independence and well-being in later life for the longer term. Read the report here. For more details of the PSA click here. |
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UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People Prevalence Survey Report |
This is the first dedicated study of its kind in the UK, and its aim is to provide nationally representative prevalence estimates on elder abuse and neglect in the UK. Published on 14 June 2007, it was commissioned by Comic Relief and the Department of Health, and the work was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and King's College London (KCL). Over 2,100 people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the survey between March and September 2006. The survey included people aged 66 and over living in private households (including sheltered accommodation). The full report is available through the Comic Relief website - click here to access it. A summary of the findings can be accessed here. |
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Independence, Choice and Risk A guide to best practice in supported decision making |
This best practice guide, published in May 2007 by the Department of Health, aims to support the principle of empowerment through managing choice and risk transparently in order to enable fair appraisal of the decision process, should it become necessary. It can be used to promote choice, while managing risk proportionately and realistically. Read the full report here. |
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Caring Choices Who will pay for long term care? |
‘Caring Choices: Who will pay for long-term care?’ is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of and help shape future policy on long-term care for older people. The debate will explore three big questions that relate to the future funding of long-term care for older people: Who should pay for personal care? How do we encourage people to contribute to care costs? How do we support the provision of informal care? Opinions from older people and individuals who are involved in the care system are being gathered at a series of events from April to November 2007. For more information visit the The Caring Choices website. |
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A Recipe for Care - Not a Single Ingredient Clinical case for change: Report by Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People |
In this report, published 29 January 2007, Professor Philp identifies how services for older people can be reconfigured bringing them closer to home. He offers a five-point plan to improve older people's care: (1) early intervention and assessment of old age conditions; (2) long-term conditions management in the community, integrated with social care and specialist services; (3) early supported discharge from hospital and whenever possible delivering care closer to home; (4) general acute hospital care whenever needed, combined with quick access to new specialist centres; (5) partnerships built around the needs and wishes of older people and their families. The end result will be reduced need for acute hospital care and increased investment in preventive services and community based health and care services. |
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The State of Social Care in England 2005-06 The Commission for Social Care Inspection's annual report to Parliament |
The State of Social Care report, published on 10 January 2007, describes how far trends in social care have changed over the last year; looks in more depth at commissioning by councils and support provided by carers; and provides an overview of the current state of social care across public, voluntary and private sectors. The report concludes that despite progress and some real success stories, there is a pressing agenda of change to close the gap between government policy aims and the reality of many people's experiences. Read the executive summary. |
| Common Assessment Framework (CAF) |
On 11 October 2006, the Department of Health Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) launched an 'Assessment and Care Planning Collaborative' to support the development of a Common Assessment Framework for Adults and Guidance on Personal Health and Social Care Plans, commitments given in the White Paper 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say'. The aim of adopting a common framework is to remove the artificial boundary of 'older age', and provide continuity of a person-centred approach throughout adult life, geared towards self-determination and planning for independence. In developing CAF it is intended to build on experience to date from implementing the Care Programme Approach (CPA), the Single Assessment Process (SAP) for Older People and person centred health and social care planning. |
| Strong and Prosperous Communities - The Local Government White Paper | The White Paper published on 26 October 2006 aims to give local people and local communities more influence and power to improve their lives and deliver better public services through a rebalancing of the relationship between central government, local government and local people. Volume 1 sets out the government's proposals and Volume 2 describes how these proposals will enable local authorities, their partners and local communities to respond to challenges for local services: community safety; health and well-being; vulnerable people; children, young people and families; economic development, housing and planning; climate change; and the role of the third sector. Read the executive summary. |
Our Health, Our Care, Our Say Making it happen |
An update on progress on implementation of the White Paper, 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' was published by the Department of Health on 18 October 2006. The report sets out a roadmap to achieving the White Paper’s objectives, and priorities for action. It details some of the progress being made, such as trialling individual budgets for social care users, developing new approaches to prevention, and shifting care. Also included are tools and products, and key actions that can be undertaken locally to support implementation. A separate document, 'Making it Happen: pilots, early implementers and demonstration sites', provides information on projects currently testing and developing new approaches to the delivery of care services. This document will be periodically updated. |
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Time to Care? An overview of home care services for older people in England, 2006 A Report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection |
Time to Care?, published on 18 October 2006, recommends that local authorities should re-think the way they organise home care services for older people. The report sets out how agencies are meeting government standards, while examining the experiences of people who receive care at home. It states that home care is an essential service, which is enabling thousands of older people to remain safely at home, however, there is evidence that the current arrangements for commissioning and providing home care are likely to be unsustainable for a number of reasons. Read the executive summary More details of the report are given here. |
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A New Ambition for Old Age: next steps in implementing the National Service Framework for Older People A report from Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People, DH |
A New Ambition for Old Age, published on 20 April 2006 by the Department of Health, sets out the priorities for the second phase of the government’s ten-year National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People under three themes: dignity in care, joined-up care and healthy ageing. Plans include enhancing the role mental health nurses can play in improving dignity in care for older people, and relaunching the Older People’s Champion Network to address age discrimination in the NHS. The report acknowledges there are still deep-rooted negative attitudes and behaviours towards older people which impact on their experience of and quality of care. More details of the next steps for action and links to further information from the DH are given here. |
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Securing Good Care for Older People: taking a long-term view The Wanless social care review |
The final report of the Wanless social care review team, led by Sir Derek Wanless and commissioned by the King's Fund, was published on 30 March 2006. The review team examined social and health care policy, services and spending as well as demographic, social and technological trends in order to consider the potential demands on social care now and in the future. It estimated the contribution of demographic pressures and the need to improve outcomes would increase the costs of older people's social care to £29.5 billion in 2026. Funding proposals include restricting means-testing for personal care and putting in place a free package of basic care, topped up by personal contributions matched by the state. See Press Release. |
Living Well in Later Life A review of progress against the National Service Framework for Older People |
The Healthcare Commission, the Audit Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection published on 27 March 2006 a joint report assessing progress in improving health, social care and local council services for older people in line with standards set out in the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People and taking into account subsequent policy developments. The review concludes that in order to achieve sustainable improvement in the experiences of older people using public services further action is required in three key areas: tackling discrimination through ageist attitudes; ensuring all the standards in the NSF are met; and strengthening working in partnership between all the agencies that provide services for older people. More ... |
| Handled with Care? Managing medication for residents of care homes and children's homes - a follow up study | The Commission for Social Care Inspection report published on 6 February 2006 draws the conclusion that care homes are failing on medication standards. The medication older people receive can make a huge difference to their quality of life. Nearly half (5,000 out of 11,500) of all nursing and care homes fail to meet national minimum standards for how they give people medication prescribed by their doctors to treat serious and other illnesses. Often people are given the wrong medication, wrong doses or no medication at all, the report finds. Staff are poorly trained and records are not kept properly. The CSCI notes that homes have already had professional guidance and support with training, but it does not appear to be making a difference. |
White Paper - Our Health, Our Care, Our Say A new direction for community services |
On 30 January 2006 the Department of Health published the White Paper on future plans for the whole health and social care system It proposes a radical and sustained shift in the way in which services are delivered. Four main goals are outlined: health and social care services will provide better prevention services with earlier intervention; people will have more choice and a louder voice; more will be done to tackle inequalities and improve access to community services; and there will be more support for people with long-term needs. See Press release |
A Sure Start to Later Life Ending inequalities for older people |
The
final report from the Social Exclusion
Unit, published on 26 January 2006, details government plans to mitigate
the exclusion, poverty and isolation experienced by older people based
on the Sure Start model created for children and families. The aim
is to locate a single, accessible gateway to wide ranging services
in the community, where potential problems are identified quickly
and prevented from becoming worse. A pilot programme called 'Link-Age
Plus' will test out the Sure Start approach for older people. The
model will also be piloted through other programmes including Partnerships
for Older People Projects, Local Area Agreements and supported by
the White Paper on Primary and Community Care. More
details of the actions proposed in the report and documents linked
to the SEU report which provide further information on social exclusion. See also Press release |
A New Pension Settlement for the Twenty-First Century The second report of the Pensions Commission [The Turner Report] |
The Pensions Commission's report published on 30 November 2005 states that the current system of private funded pensions combined with the current state system will deliver increasingly inadequate and unequal results. Long-term pension policy needs to be robust in the face of rising life expectancy. Given these conditions the Commission believes that major reform of the UK pension system is needed to create a new settlement for the 21st century. More details of the reforms proposed in the report and the final Pensions Commission contribution to that debate, Implementing an integrated package of pension reforms, published on 4 April 2006. |
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Independence,Well-being and Choice Our vision for the future of social care for adults in England |
The long-awaited Green Paper on the radical reform of adult social care was published by the Department of Health on 21 March 2005. Older people using social care and other local authority services will be given individual budgets so that they can buy in the services they need. More information on the content of the Green Paper, responses to the Green Paper consultation, and the public consultation process Your Health, Your Care, Your Say leading to the publication of the White Paper on improving community health and care services due to be published in early 2006. |
Opportunity Age Meeting the challenges of ageing in the 21st century |
The first ever cross-government strategy that looks specifically at the issues facing British society as people live longer, healthier lives was presented by the Department for Work and Pensions on 23 March 2005. It addresses extending people's working lives, supporting active ageing in the community and giving people more choice and independence, especially 'shedding the stereotypes' that surround older people. More ... |
Excluded Older People Social Exclusion Unit interim report |
The continued importance of addressing pensioner poverty is one of the issues highlighted in this interim report on social exclusion, which was produced after consultation with older people, service providers, and academics by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 15 March 2005. More ... |
| National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions | This NSF sets 11 quality requirements to transform the way health and social care services support people with long-term neurological conditions to live as independently as possible. Although the NSF focuses on people with long-term neurological conditions, much of the guidance it offers can apply to anyone living with a long-term condition. More ... |
Equality and Diversity: coming of age |
This is the final consultation on the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, issued by the DTI in July 2005. In October 2006 the goverment will introduce legislation outlawing age discrimination in employment and vocational training. The Age Regulations will come into force on 1 October 2006. More ... |
| SPAIN (the Social Policy on Ageing Information Network) published a report What Price Care in Old Age? (July 2005) to examine what has changed three years on from its paper 'Underfunding of social care'. It argues that although the government has taken steps to address the failing system of social care for older people, rising costs have meant there is little sign of a reversal in the trend towards targeting care at ever fewer people with very high care needs. And little progress has been made in closing the gap between funding for older care recipients as compared to others. | The Wanless Review Team at the King's Fund produced Social Care Needs and Outcomes: A Background Paper for the Wanless Social Care Review. A preliminary paper to the final report, published in spring 2006, it offers an insight into the principles on which the Wanless Social Care Review is based. It scans relevant evidence around the demographic, economic and social factors which will affect social care for older people over the next twenty years; and the finances and resources which will be required to ensure comprehensive, high-quality care. |
| The Local Government Association's and the Association of Directors of Social Services' vision for the delivery of better social care services for older people are outlined in two important documents 'Our future in our hands: putting people at the centre of social care' and 'All our tomorrows: inverting the triangle of care'. Both these documents argue for a whole systems approach to care and a shift from acute services to a focus on prevention. | Carers UK has a range of briefings relating to key issues such as benefits and breaks for carers; and a digest of facts and figures about carers drawn from various surveys and research looking at who carers are across the UK, employment, health, age, tasks, finances and poverty, and rights. It proposes a strategy to deliver real choice and equality of opportunity for the UK's six million carers. The care provided by family, friends and relatives is worth an estimated £57 billion per year - the equivalent of UK spending on the NHS. |
| The Association of London Government (now known as London Councils) held a seminar 'Developing Policy and Practice for Older People in London' to look at the needs and contribution of older people, and assess the impact of London's ageing population on public services. Gillian Crosby's briefing paper to the seminar emphasises that the real challenges for London lie in creating an environment that encourages and enables older people to remain active citizens. | Community Care's report on older people by Gillian Crosby puts the case for a strategic approach to addressing the needs of older people. Although there has been progress with initiatives like the National Service Framework, older people still get a poor deal in service delivery compared with other sectors and in pension provision. The report points to the discrimination the over-50s face in employment and calls for ageism to be challenged in all its forms. Read the report. |
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Links to facts and figures about the UK ageing population:
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