Care England has welcomed the government’s announcement of £42.6m for adult social care via its Accelerating Reform Fund.
The aim of the Accelerating Reform Fund is to address barriers to adopting innovative practices, and to build capacity and capability in adult social care. The fund looks to support unpaid carers, new digital tools for recruitment and retention, and increased social prescribing.
The Minister of State for Care recently wrote to local authorities setting out the government’s priorities for innovation and scaling. These 12 priorities include supporting people to have greater control over their care options (such as by using digital tools to self-direct support or communicate needs and preferences), investment in local area networks or communities to support prevention and promote wellbeing, thus enabling people to age well in their communities, and finding ways to better identify unpaid carers in local areas.
Professor Martin Green OBE, CEO of Care England said: “We hope this injection of funding will help provide some much-needed stability to the sector, and encourage systematic innovative thinking which will directly support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. It is now incumbent on the government to ensure the funds reach the frontline and do not get caught in the webs of bureaucracy.
“Innovation plays a crucial role in the social care sector, better enabling us to weather the storm of an ageing population, workforce challenges and ongoing inflationary pressures. This fund, if utilised to the best of its ability, can help foster an environment of transformation, and ensure the care sector remains fit for the future.”
