Health Management and Policy Alert

Informal carers

House of Commons Library - 

This briefing paper provides information about the number of informal carers in the UK and the issues they face. It also explains the rights, benefits and support available to informal carers as well as current and previous government policy on caring.

• Briefing
• More detail

Adult social care funding reform: developments since July 2019 (England)

House of Commons Library -
This briefing paper provides a summary of developments concerning the reform of adult social care since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019. It also looks at the background to the current situation from 1997. It applies to England only.

• Briefing
• House of Commons Library - publications

Planning for retirement: how retirement communities can help meet the needs of our ageing population

County Councils Network -
This report argues that retirement communities, a ‘fringe’ part of the conversation on reform of adult social care, should be considered a major part of the solution on how care is delivered in England in the future. It outlines how councils and providers should be given the tools by government to incentivise and accelerate these developments. Research shows that residents in these developments spend up to 12 days less on average in hospital due to unplanned accidents compared to those in regular housing.

• Report
• County Councils Network - news

Re-thinking local

Local Government Association -
This discussion paper sets out how, with the right funding and powers, councils can grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not just recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemics but to go further and address the inequalities the virus has exposed, develop a green recovery, address skills gaps and rebuild the economy so that it benefits everyone.

• Report
• Local Government Association - publications

ADASS coronavirus survey

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) - 

The annual ADASS budget survey has been split into two reports this year. This is the first and it focuses specifically on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The second report will be published shortly and will set out and explore the wider financial impact of Covid-19 for adult social care in England.

• Survey
• More detail

Adult social care data and cyber security programme report 2019-20

Institute of Public Care -
This report summarises learning from the programme, identifies the key risks that provider services face and the extent to which recommendations in the 2018/19 programme report have been implemented.

• Report
• Institute of Public Care - publications

Readying the NHS and adult social care in England for Covid-19

National Audit Office -
This report is the second in a programme of work by the National Audit Office to support Parliament’s scrutiny of the UK government’s response to Covid-19. It sets out the facts about government’s progress in preparing the NHS and social care for the Covid-19 outbreak.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

Fixing social care: new funding, new methods, new partnerships

Adam Smith Institute -
This briefing paper argues that the social care system is broken, unfit for purpose, and cannot be fixed by new taxes. It argues that new investment in care homes is needed and proposes a new mechanism to bring in long-term investors, helping create better quality, better value partnerships in more up-to-date facilities.

• Briefing
• Adam Smith Institute - news

Carers Week 2020 research report: the rise in the number of unpaid carers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak

Carers UK - 

The six Carers Week charities — Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, Oxfam GB and Rethink Mental Illness — have published research based on polling carried out by YouGov in May 2020 of 4557 people over the age of 18 living in the UK.  The figures show an estimated 4.5 million people in the UK have become unpaid carers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is on top of the 9.1 million unpaid carers who were already caring before the outbreak, bringing the total to 13.6 million. 2.7 million women (59 per cent) and 1.8 million men (41 per cent) have started caring for relatives who are older, disabled or living with a physical or mental illness.

• Research report
• Press release

The structure of the NHS in England

House of Commons Library -
This briefing provides an overview of the funding and accountability relationships within this NHS in England, and an introduction to the roles of key organisations including NHS England, NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission. It also highlights some key health policy issues, including patient safety, funding, and the integration of health and social care.

• Briefing
• House of Commons Library - publications