The Archbishop of Canterbury claimed social care was the most pressing issue facing the UK in his New Year message.
This was followed by the Church of England’s Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care publishing a report titled ‘Care and Support Reimagined: a National Care Covenant for England’ on 24 January 2023. The report consisted of 18 months of research from listening to and engaging with service users in the social care sector as well as commentary from experts in the sector.
James Newcome, the bishop of Carlisle, has even suggested that the House of Lord’s budgeting £15 billion to carry out this project is accurate.
In support of this, Gavin Edwards, Unison head of social care, states, “A new radical approach for social care is long overdue.”
Sector experts have also concurred that without such reform, the system will remain fragmented.
All in all, it seems that the sector supports the call to action from the Archbishop. It is now in the Government’s hands to take the advice on board.
