Archbishops’ Commission reacts to publication of Government’s White Paper on Adult Social Care Reform

Responding to the White Paper, Anna Dixon MBE, Chair of the Commission said:
“It is vital that there is a shared long-term vision for care and support in England. The White Paper is a positive first step towards that. It is good to see the government recognise that care is at the heart of communities and matters to everybody. The principles to give people choice and control, to ensure care and support is tailored to the person, and to ensure access is fair and equitable are a good starting point. Many of the ideas are positive ones – on increasing housing options, on spreading innovative community models of care, and on making better use of technology and data. The challenge will be how to deliver any of this, given the financial pressure local authorities and providers are under, and the high level of staff vacancies. It will be hard to deliver on the long-term aspirations, unless more is done to address the immediate issues faced daily by those who draw on care and those who care for them both paid and unpaid.”
 
The Commission has published its draft principles and continues to invite contributions to its Listening Exercise. The Commission will continue to engage widely as it does its work over coming months including how to translate the values that should underpin care and support into practice, identifying the barriers and enablers to implementation and delivery, building understanding of what good care really looks like, including recognition for the nature of spiritual care.