Briefing: The Care Bill: Second reading in the House of Commons

The Care Bill is currently being debated by MPs. The Bill will modernise the legal framework for care and support, implement the recommendations of the Dilnot report on social care funding and take forward some of the government’s commitments in response to the Francis report.

While The King’s Fund welcomes the Bill as an important stepping stone to wider reform of care and support, it will not solve the social care funding challenge, nor will it deliver the change needed to meet future health and care needs.

Related events

One year on from Francis: Patient safety and quality in the NHS

Related content

A short history of social care funding reform in England: 1997 to 2019

Adult social care in England –unlike health care – is not free at the point of use. Support from the state is reserved for those with both the highest level of need, and the lowest means. We outline the history of the past 22 years of attempts to reform how social care funded.

The new NHS: quality regulation

Regulation of the quality of health care services has risen to the top of the health agenda following the Francis, Keogh and Berwick reports. See a selection of our research, analysis and other work relating to care and quality regulation.

Paying for social care: Beyond Dilnot

Paying for social care: Beyond Dilnot discusses the history of social care reform and considers the present and future funding pressures on the system. The paper calls for health and social care services to be considered as a single system with a new framework being put in place for planning and cost-sharing.

Completed project

Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England

The Barker Commission answered the question of whether having separate systems for health and social care is still fit for purpose.

Evidence and consultation

Health Select Committee's inquiry into public expenditure on health and social care: Evidence submission

This submission considers the financial pressures the NHS is currently under and will continue to face in the coming years.

Related blogs

The Integration Transformation Fund: the foundation of a genuinely integrated system or just another brick in the wall?

Expectations for the Integrated Transformation Fund are high, but will it actually help to deliver integrated care when the system is so under pressure?

A good day to bury a significant piece of legislation?

Amid the furore of the Competition Commission’s decision to refuse the merger of Bournemouth and Poole, some significant changes to the current failure regime have been approved in amendments to the Care Bill.

You may also be interested in

Evidence and consultation

Health and Care Bill: Public Bill Committee submission from The King's Fund

The Health and Care Bill introduces new measures to promote and enable collaboration in health and care. Our evidence submission focuses on Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Bill, which deal with the NHS and its relationships to other parts of the system.

Evidence and consultation

Briefing on the Health and Care Bill: House of Commons Second Reading

This briefing has been produced to inform Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Commons and focuses on the main sections of the Bill, which deal with the NHS and its relationships to other bodies, including the Secretary of State.

'Important reforms could be undermined by plans for ministerial interference': The King's Fund response to the Health and Care Bill

‘These are important reforms that could be undermined by controversial plans for greater ministerial interference in the day-to-day running of the NHS,' says Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, commenting on the Health and Care Bill.

The King's Fund comments on the Queen's Speech

'The Queen’s Speech once again stops short of a meaningful commitment to reform England’s broken social care system,' says Chief Executive of The King's Fund, Richard Murray.