Social Care

Baroness Wheeler Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

The noble and right reverend Lord is entirely right. There has been a large number of reports on social care, but they have not in themselves brought us closer to a new deal. That is why the Government’s commitment is not necessarily to launch new reviews but to engage in consensus building across the political parties. That consensus building has been lacking in the past and has continually proved to be the stumbling block to reform. The commitment of both the Government and other Benches to those talks is the essential building block of any major reform. I completely pay tribute to the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister for their commitment to those talks.

[Baroness Wheeler (Lab)]

My Lords, the CQC’s report, The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England, was published earlier this month. Last year’s report described social care as being at a “tipping point”, and this year’s makes it clear that Covid has not only exposed but exacerbated existing social care problems and thrown into stark relief the long-standing need for reform, investment and workforce planning, including a new deal for care staff. The CQC stresses that the legacy of Covid for social care must be that these crucial issues are tackled now. Why can this not be a priority for the Government and why can we not have at least a timetable for the publication of the social care reform proposals that the Government keep promising but failing to deliver on?