The government’s plans to reform the social care system, which are unlikely to be delivered until 2028, has been called a “ticking time bomb” for Oxfordshire’s elderly population.
Baroness Louise Casey will chair an independent commission in adult social care to build cross-party consensus with a view to creating a National Care Service.
The report is set to begin in April, but proposals for long-term adult health and social care funding will not be published until 2028.
While the government is rolling out immediate measures to support people in need of care, including a £86 million boost to the Disabled Facilities Grant, it has been criticised for not acting with enough urgency.
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Paul Ringer, the CEO of Age UK Oxfordshire, said: “Far reaching reform and refinancing of social care is long overdue, so the announcement is good news.
“However, the ultimate question is whether the Government will act decisively on Baroness Casey’s conclusions.
“The most sensitive issue of how to fund the social care needs of our rapidly ageing population, which is more pronounced in Oxfordshire than other parts of the country.
“That is not set to be addressed until the second phase of the commission and is therefore a major concern, partly because today's older people do not have time on their side, but also because of the inevitable other changes and challenges the world will see in terms of our politics and economy, which might distract us from this ticking time-bomb.
Tim Bearder, cabinet member for adult social care at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Wes Streeting has had well over a decade in opposition to think about the social care problem and now has one of the biggest mandates since the war to enable him to act.
What has this Government been doing for the last 14 years?! Wes Streeting's plan to have a plan lacks the urgency needed to tackle the immediate social care crisis left by the Conservatives including the chronic shortage of trained care workers. pic.twitter.com/bA7lJcbvx7
— Cllr Tim Bearder (@timbearder) January 3, 2025
“Instead, he is kicking the can down the road yet again.
“This plan to have a plan lacks the urgency needed to tackle the immediate social care crisis left by the Conservatives including the chronic shortage of trained care workers.
"I have long been campaigning for a cross-party commission on care, so of course I stand ready and eager to bring Oxfordshire's ideas to this commission, and to make sure the voices of family carers are heard throughout the process.
“The Government must now convince people they are genuinely ready to listen."
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "In the first six months of this government, work has already begun on stabilising the care sector, investing in prevention, and in carers and care workers.
“The investment and reforms we’re announcing today will help to modernise social care, get it working more closely with the NHS, and help deliver our plan for change.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said that the social care grant that councils receive would be increased by £680 million.
Local councils have a legal duty to provide children’s and adult’s social care services, and they make up more than half of the county council’s budget.
A national survey by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework found that 68.5 per cent of 325 respondents in Oxfordshire said they were satisfied with the social care they received.
Sean Woodcock, Labour MP for Banbury, has welcomed government plans to bring back the family doctor as part of Mr Streeting's new strategy.
Mr Woodcock said: "When I knock on doors in Banbury, Chipping Norton or Charlbury and the Villages I hear time and time again the difficulty that residents have in making a GP appointment and how important the front door to our NHS is to them and their families."
