Yesterday I spoke in a Westminster Hall Debate on Social Care and the Social Care Workforce. I argued that reforming social care is one the biggest challenges facing our generation. The pandemic has brutally exposed the flaws in our social care system which is undervalued and underfunded. Reform is badly needed for those who need social care and those who work within it.
We often hear about the costs of reforming social care, but the costs of not reforming the system are just as important. Investing in social care is not just the right thing to do for the millions of people that are not getting the care or support they need; it also has the potential to create jobs across the country and drive our economic recovery. If we really want to level up, social care is where we should start. This is why it was so disappointing that social care was ignored at the last Budget.
The Government are saying that because of the pandemic, now is not the right time to reform social care. I disagree. I think that it is precisely because of the pandemic and the flaws it has exposed in our social care model, that now is the time for reforms to give people hope that, after the horrors they have been through, there is a better system for the future.
