A Cross Government Approach to Social Care: The Key Players

Matthew Spencer

Account Director

It’s safe to say that the appointment of Stephen Kinnock MP to the care brief took the social care sector by surprise. A Welsh MP with limited relevant parliamentary contributions from the backbenches, is now tasked with reforming an English care sector of unending complexity. If that wasn’t enough, Kinnock has been gifted a vast Ministerial brief, including responsibility for the entirety of NHS primary care, including GPs, pharmacy and NHS dentistry. Since taking office, Kinnock has also answered questions in the Commons on issues such as mental health, recruitment and the drug tariff.

The designation of this brief should prompt the social care sector to rethink its engagement with the Government. For Kinnock specifically, any outreach should be framed with the Government’s broader move towards community care in mind. It should frame social care as a crucial and often overlooked layer of support which will make or break the Government’s ambition to deliver care at home.

The Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS and social care will be the first real opportunity to make this case. Provisionally scheduled for Spring 2025, there is a real danger that social care is reduced to a footnote against wider plans for NHS transformation. Former Director of Policy at the Kings Fund, Sally Warren will be crucial if this is to be avoided. Warren regularly commented on the need for investment in social care as a critical prerequisite for NHS reform in her previous role; and now holds the keys to the drafting of the NHS 10-year plan within Government. She has the potential to be a critical ally in keeping social care at the top of the DHSC agenda and should be a key target of the sector’s immediate engagement.

Alongside Warren, another crucial appointment to DHSC in September escaped widespread media attention: former CEO of Leeds City Council Tom Riordan as Second Permanent Secretary. Riordan’s longstanding role in improving integration between health and social care; particularly in terms of accelerating discharge from the NHS to community settings, situates him as a key potential ally for social care at the highest echelons of DHSC decision making.

There is also a danger that social care gets left behind in the broader mission structure that the Government is currently developing. It’s unclear who will be involved in the NHS Fit for the Future Mission Board, but it is essential that social care has a seat at the table. Early indications are that this Mission Board will be joint Chaired by Pat McFadden and Wes Streeting MP and will feed into Clara Swinson, Michael Barber and Georgia Gould MP in the Cabinet Office as the coordinating force behind mission delivery across Government. The early discussions of this NHS mission board will inevitably set its terms of reference; and it is crucial that social care is involved early, if it is to be viewed as a crucial determinant and enabler of future proofed NHS care.

Looking more broadly afield across wider Government Departments, Liz Kendall MP is often floated, based on her previous Shadow care brief, the obvious crossover in her DWP brief, and her consistent support for the sector as a whole. However, with Kendall and Minister for Pensions Emma Reynolds due to be largely pre-occupied with the debate on the Winter Fuel Allowance, it will be up to former Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee and now Minister for Social Care and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP to field immediate questions on areas including local access to care, supported employment and disability rights.

Angela Rayner’s care experience and nominal lead of the passage of Employment Rights legislation is also regularly raised. However, she’s relying on the Department for Business and Trade to actually draft this legislation and will likely take a back seat in its passage through Parliament.  With this in mind, the attention of the social care sector falls on an unlikely target: Justin Madders MP, the Minister for Employment Rights, who, is charged with responsibility for the passage of Employment Rights legislation and the promise of national terms and conditions for social care. With this role in mind, Madders will be answering more parliamentary questions on the promised Fair Deal for Care Workers than anyone else over the next nine months and looks set to become an unlikely spokesperson for social care reform.

More details of crucial players will undoubtedly be revealed with the passage of the Employment Rights Bill, the formal sitting of the NHS mission board, and the Government’s consultation on its NHS 10-year plan. In the meantime, the social care sector would do well to engage early with the individuals outlined in this blog; tailored to their specific briefs to ensure that social care is given every opportunity to feature on the Government’s agenda.

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