Why the Casey Commission should consider national assessment of social care needs
A national assessment system may address current social care inequalities and save money, writes Simon Bottery.
A key benefit of a wide-ranging review like Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission into Adult Social Care is that it can look at the big issues in social care and evaluate radical proposals to see whether they have merit.
High on the Casey Commission’s list should be to look at our approach to assessing people’s finances and social care needs and consider whether doing this nationally would be fairer and more effective than asking each of the 153 local authorities to do it, as is now the case.
There are several reasons why this might be a better approach.
- First, there is plenty of evidence that the current system has led to local unfairness.
- In some local authorities, four times as many older people receive publicly funded care as in others.
A national assessment system may address current social care inequalities and save money.
Author's summary: National assessment system considered for social care needs.