Dimensions response to the Casey Commission Terms of Reference

The terms of reference for the Casey Social Care Commission have been published today and they can’t come soon enough. Urgent action is needed to address workforce shortages, financial strain on providers and local authorities to ensure people can access the care and support they need.

Rachael Dodgson, CEO of Dimensions said: “It’s reassuring to see that members of the Commission have already started to meet those with lived experience. We are keen to ensure that this continues and there are visits to people we support across England and Wales. Members of the Commission and Baroness Casey herself need to hear from those who draw upon support who can show what a difference a person-centred approach makes to their life.”

It’s positive that the Commission is tasked with building `a national conversation’ and a public consensus on social care. But there is no mention of a political consensus which will be difficult to achieve.

The Commission will report in two phases: the first in 2026 will focus on tangible and pragmatic recommendations including a National Care Service which was a Labour manifesto commitment. The second in 2028, will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, with implementation perhaps not until 2036.
The Commission will consider the support of working age adults with learning disabilities and autism separately from older people. This is new and it will be important to see how Baroness Casey interprets this. The needs of a 90-year-old are very different from a 25-year-old autistic person, but they do share the same commissioning framework and staff.
It’s disappointing to see social care being positioned as a support system for the government’s 10-year health plan rather than valued as a system that enables people to live the lives they choose.

The constraint that recommendations “must remain affordable, operating within the fiscal constraints of Spending Review settlements” is concerning; there is clearly no expectation of new funding.
We need to be optimistic about this Commission even though this is difficult because we’ve been here before with governments promising reform of social care.