Carers Trust responds to the government's White Paper on Social Care Reform

The Department of Health and Social Care today published the government’s White Paper on Social Care Reform.

Responding to the White Paper, Carers Trust’s Executive Director of Policy and External Affairs, Joe Levenson, said:

“Carers Trust welcomes the vision set out in this long awaited Social Care White Paper. We’re pleased that the government have recognised the vital role of unpaid carers, including through the £25 million set out for services that support unpaid carers. We’re also pleased with the commitment to listen to carers when commissioning services and to work with carers and their representatives to assess the White Paper’s success.

“We are especially pleased the government recognises the importance of unpaid carers accessing respite, which so many tell us is vital to maintaining their health and wellbeing. We also welcome the intention to change the school census to include young carers. Carers Trust have called for this change and this will make it easier for schools to identify young carers – which is the first step in ensuring they get the support they need.

“Carers Trust will continue to work with our partners at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to ensure carers’ voices are heard, and the specialist services that support them – like Carers Trust’s Network Partners – are enabled to continue to provide the support that unpaid carers need.

“But we are seriously concerned that the proposals for investment set out today go nowhere near far enough to delivering the sort of generational change that our broken system so desperately needs.

“We simply cannot afford to let down millions of unpaid carers and the people they care for by underinvesting in social care reform. That’s why to ensure we’re supporting unpaid carers effectively, the funding needs to match the ambition and vision. Otherwise we risk repeating the mistakes of the past and storing up enormous problems for the future.”

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