The value of investing in social care What are the benefits of further funding for reform to adult social care in England?

Social care is well placed to contribute widely to our society and to play a key role in the government’s levelling up agenda. But it needs reform and more resources to fully realise the benefits of a resilient care system and to tackle the challenges in the sector.

In September 2021, the government announced some important reforms to adult social care, including a ‘cap’ on care costs and an extension of the means test. But social care isn’t ‘fixed’ yet. These reforms and promised funding are not enough to provide care to everyone who needs it, ensure staff are fairly rewarded, and make other vital improvements to our social care system: big challenges remain.

In this briefing, the King’s Fund, the Health Foundation and Nuffield Trust have come together to set out the potential benefits of tackling these challenges. We look at seven benefits of social care in England where there are opportunities offered by additional funding for further reform. We also put forward key priorities for the government’s promised white paper on adult social care reform.

Previous governments have promised social care reform but failed to deliver it. This government has made an encouraging start by committing to reform – it must now build on this.