The care home sector is awaiting further detail on adult social care policy after Andy Burnham entered Downing Street this week, but his first 48 hours in office have already brought significant ministerial changes, signals on public service reform and a renewed focus on devolution, prevention and local government.
For providers, commissioners and suppliers, the most immediate developments are the reshaping of the Cabinet, with the departure of key figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Mr Burnham’s emphasis on neighbourhoods, housing and public services as part of a wider national “10-year plan” promised later this year.
Ministerial appointments
Seasoned government minister Yvette Cooper has been appointed Health and Social Care secretary, replacing James Murray, who took on the role after previous incumbent Wes Streeting resigned in protest at the Labour local election defeats in May. Ms Cooper previously served as home secretary and foreign secretary in Sir Keir’s government, and held several junior roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown terms in office in the late 90s and early 2000s, including as a health minister.
At time of writing, a replacement for Stephen Kinnock as care minister had not been named after he left the department to become Secretary of State for Wales. Mr Kinnock was overseeing a raft of reforms on adult social care reform priorities including fair pay agreements for care workers and development of integrated services with health under neighbourhood reforms.
Adult social care reform
Mr Burnham - a former health secretary responsible for creating and introducing a National Care Service in 2010 (which was then scrapped under the succeeding coalition government) - has not yet made any specific policy announcements on adult social care since becoming prime minister, but recently said the need to fix social care is urgent, and suggested bringing forward the Casey review so that practical measures can be identified sooner rather than later.
His comments in his first speech outside Downing Street as he took office hinted at familiar themes featuring in current reforms around integrating adult social care with local health services and housing by talking of “building a more preventative state” and “putting the care of people at the heart of everything I do”.
Workforce
Before leaving DHSC, Mr Kinnock oversaw work on the government’s fair pay agreement plans for care workers, which would see staff formally represented in negotiations on pay and employment conditions. The policy remains a central part of Labour’s social care reform programme and there are no indications that progress will stall under the new administration.
Care home operators will also be watching closely for any indication of changes to workforce recruitment, immigration policy and funding support as the new government develops its wider programme. Recent pressures around staffing shortages, recruitment costs and competition with NHS employers remain unresolved across the sector.
Devolution and local government reform
One of the clearest themes in Burnham’s first speech as PM was his pledge to shift power away from Westminster and into communities. The former Greater Manchester mayor said he would “take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land” while pursuing what he described as a new political model – a message that appears to align with the government’s ongoing programme of English devolution, neighbourhood health services and local government reorganisation. For care homes, those reforms could mean increasingly integrated approaches to housing, public health, adult social care and community services planning and commissioning at local level.
