Council leader Barry Rawlings and cabinet member Paul Edwards say there is a national crisis in social care and the Barnet Forum for Independent Living’s plan is “not workable”

There is no denying we have a national social care crisis with high levels of unmet need and not enough funding.

This year’s ADASS Survey suggests there are at least 430,000 people waiting for an assessment or care, while the cost of meeting unmet need is estimated at anywhere between £7bn-£14bn.

At a political level there is an ongoing national debate about how to fix the crisis with little consensus on the practical solution.

As local councillors who oversee social care services in our area, we believe it will only be solved with both sufficient funding and reform. You cannot have one without the other.

While most health services are provided free at the point of need, social care is means tested and subject to eligibility criteria.

Considering there is a government agenda to integrate health and social care this isn’t ideal, but funding social care on the same basis as the NHS is something that national politicians of all stripes have baulked at because the cost is unknowable.

So, what’s the answer?

The Barnet Forum for Independent Living have arrived at a view.

They believe the government should adopt the UN definition of Independent Living for all people who rely on social care to give them “choices equal to others” with “full inclusion and participation in the community” and to take concrete steps towards resourcing it over time.

So far so good. We can get behind making the argument for this as part of the national debate and have said so.

However, the Forum proposes delivering this vision for social care through a model they call the ‘4-point plan’ which seeks to stop the practise of undertaking eligibility determinations for social care.

And here enters the difficulty.

The eligibility determination is a statutory duty under the Care Act. In other words, the 4-point plan cannot be implemented without a change in legislation.

We have had lengthy discussions with the Forum about their model over a long period of time.

We have joined them publicly in open exploration of it and advocated for it, unsuccessfully, at the Adults & Safeguarding Committee in February 2020.

In developing our local election manifesto, we looked at the possibility of implementing it without legislative change.

The risk of legal challenge was the critical issue raised, so, quite reasonably and sensibly, we did not make the ‘4-point plan’ a specific pledge in our manifesto.

Instead, we committed to developing a new model of social care with a focus on independent living, living well at home and co-production, with a new ‘Users’ Charter’ and engagement strategy.

Separate to that, we also said we would continue to look at the feasibility of the ‘4-point plan’ if we won, and we would continue to lobby for national change.

Saying you will look at the feasibility of something is not the same as pledging to implement it.

Our caution was well-founded. When we returned to the issue after the local elections, the advice from social care professionals, both local and national, is that the ‘4-point plan’ is not workable under the Care Act.

We recognise that this is not what the Forum want to hear, but it is the conclusion that we have arrived at.

Since winning the local elections last May, we have been working to implement our manifesto pledges for adult social care against a backdrop of increasing financial challenge.

We have co-produced a new Engagement Strategy and Charter for Social Care with residents, and we have included ‘living well’ in our new Corporate Plan.

We have agreed to work towards becoming an ‘Age Friendly’ borough, appointed a Champion to the role, and commissioned Age UK, Barnet to design a roadmap to get us there.

We have invested an additional £5million to help us deliver on our commitments.

Last year’s overspend on social care in Barnet was £9million, this year continues to look difficult.

The crisis in social care is not something we can fix alone.

We call on all who are passionate about this to join us in lobbying for national change and the resources that need to go with it.

Cllr Barry Rawlings is leader of Barnet Council and Cllr Paul Edwards is cabinet member for adult social care.

Barnet Forum for Independent Living has outlined its position here.

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