Topic: Adult social care

Our work on social care policy, services and reform

Social care and the election a divide in the road?

Richard Humphries reflects on the 2017 general election manifestos and finds that they all fall short in setting clear, credible and costed proposals that address the scale of the challenges facing social care.

What is social care?

Completed project

What is social care and how does it work?

Our series of short videos and related content is intended to help clarify what social care is, how it’s provided and paid for, and how it works with the NHS and other services.

Social care for older people

Social care for older people: Home truths

This report looks at social care services for older people and the impact of cuts in local authority spending on social care providers and on older people, their families and carers.

Illustrated summary of the Barker Commission's final report

Illustrated summary of the Barker Commission's final report and recommendations on separate systems for health and social care.

State of health and care in England

Services are at full stretch and struggling to maintain standards, says Chris Ham.

The King’s Fund comments on the Care Quality Commission’s annual State of Care report

The report highlights that the NHS is under increasing pressure, with demand for services growing faster than funding and with recruiting and retaining staff representing a huge challenge.

Enhanced health in care homes: lessons from good practice on embedding integrated care

Age-related dependency needs policy and long-term planning

Can we reduce late-life dependency or plan for it better? David Oliver reflects on the findings of a recent Lancet paper and asks what we can do to tackle the challenges it highlights.

Priorities for health and care

What are the priorities for health and social care?

Ahead of the party conference season, we assess the state of health and social care and set out the big issues facing the government.

Embedding enhanced health care in care homes

This project aims to help providers and commissioners to develop local approaches to improving integration of health and care services in care homes.

Health and social care after the election: what issues still need attention?

The political tumult of recent weeks seems to be subsiding and a second snap election appears less likely – for now. Leo Ewbank asks what the new political environment might mean for health and social care.

Briefing: House of Commons debate on the address: health, social care and security

Ahead of debates on the address on Wednesday 28 June in the House of Commons and Thursday 29 June in the House of Lords, The King's Fund has produced this written briefing on the key issues for health and social care in the new parliament.

Geoff Huggins: Integrating and reshaping care - lessons from Scotland

Geoff Huggins, Director of Health and Social Care Integration, Scottish Government, shares lessons from Scotland on reforming adult social care.

Enhanced care in care homes: building on a promising start

How can the good practice in enhanced care home projects be shared more widely? Alex Baylis sets out the challenges.

Social care: who cares?

The 'dementia tax' debacle was one of the turning points of the election campaign. Nicholas Timmins asks whether all proposals for reforming social care are now a dead letter for this parliament given the government's lack of a majority.

The general election, the NHS, and social care: a less damaging deal on Brexit and more funding may result

The outcome of the general election will mean more of the same for the NHS and social care in the short term, and huge uncertainty on two fronts in the medium term, says Chris Ham.

Future of adult social care funding reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

Social care, the NHS, and other services

Bite-sized social care: Social care, the NHS and other services

This is the fourth and final video in our 'Bite-sized social care' series intended to help explain social care in England. In this one we give an overview of how social care works with the NHS and other services.

Social care: manifesto debacle shows need for wider debate

All political parties agree that social care funding needs reform, but none of the proposed solutions deal fully with the problem, says Richard Humphries.

The King's Fund responds to Theresa May's announcement on social care costs

Chris Ham comments on Theresa May's announcement on social care costs.

Theresa May is right to drop the 'dementia tax' the social care system needs considered reform

Get diagnosed with cancer or stroke and you will be looked after by the NHS, but suffer from dementia and you are on your own, says Chris Ham.

We have to address the faultline between social care and the NHS

One is heavily rationed and means-tested, the other free at the point of use and tax-funded. And when assets are involved, the issue becomes politically toxic, says Richard Humphries.

Concerns about social care costs: letter to the Editor

In a letter to the Editor of The Times, Richard Humphries argues that the Conservative manifesto's response to rising social care costs is inadequate.

Data visualisation

Adult social care spending

Most social care is funded by local government. Spending on adult social care services by local authorities fell from £18.4 billion in 2009/10 to just under £17 billion in 2015/16, a real-terms cut of 8 per cent.

Future of adult social care funding reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

Social care finances: Our work on social care funding, budgets and finance