New year social care round-up

In case you missed it: catch up on key national social care developments over the past three months!

Recent weeks have seen a succession of national announcements surrounding the future of children and adults’ social care. Read on for techUK’s summary of some of the key highlights from the past three months. 

November 2024 

The Health and Social Care Select Committee announced adult social care- "the cost of inaction" as the first of three current inquiry areas, alongside community mental health services and the Ten-Year Health Plan.  

This followed the Government’s announcement of an "overhaul’” of children's social care services later the same month, which includes measures to increase the financial transparency of children’s care providers, as well as a requirement for all councils to have multi-agency children’s safeguarding teams. 

December 2024 

On 18 December 2024 the Health and Social Care Select Committee held a non-inquiry session focused on the work of the Department for Health and Social Care, which saw the Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting and officials answer questions about the Ten-Year Health Plan and reform in terms of the Government’s intention to deliver a “strategic shift” of services away from hospitals to community-based care. The discussions also explored challenges in relation to investment, as well as the roles of local Government and Integrated Care Boards in supporting the prevention agenda.  

In the same week, the Government also announced £100 million capital funding for hospices during 2025-2026, as well as £26 million revenue funding for children and young peoples’ hospices over the same period.  

January 2025 

At the start of 2025, on 3 January, the Government set out ambitions to “transform social care” which include: 

  • a goal to ensure all care providers are “fully digitised” by the end of the current parliamentary term; 
  • enabling greater use of care technology to enable people to live independently at home for longer; 
  • improving the career structure for care workers nationally; 
  • support for people with disabilities to make home adaptions with an additional £86 million announced for the Disabled Facilities Grant in the current financial year. 

Whilst no specific national actions for digital transformation in social care were set out, this shift reflects another of the Government’s key strategic priorities for the health and care system; decreasing reliance on analogue ways of working by digitising foundational infrastructure and services.  

As part of the Government’s plans to reform adult social care, the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey DBE CB to lead an independent commission into adult social care was also announced at the start of the month. The first phase is expected to report in 2026 and set out the key challenges plus provide medium-term recommendations, whilst a second phase is anticipated to report “by 2028” and include long-term recommendations. 

Elsewhere, parliamentary discussions focused on social care continued at the start of 2025. On 8 January the Health and Social Care Select Committee held their first evidence session on their social care inquiry, which heard discussions on several key challenges facing the social care sector including:  

  • the failure by previous Governments to deliver on social care reform commitments, and the need for funding reform; 
  • poor social care data quality and data collection, including how the lack of a national, central social care data repository has resulted in significant data fragmentation; 
  • the need for greater join-up of health and social care, including data-sharing. 

What else is coming up in 2025 for digital, data and technology in social care? 

Last year, Skills for Care launched their National Workforce Strategy (read the key takeaways in techUK’s insight). Whilst the Steering Committee remains keen to realise its implementation, it remains to be seen whet Improving the skills of the care workforce: her the Government will endorse the strategy’s recommendations. 

Do you work in, or with, a local authority implementating a digital, data or technology solution?

techUK’s Local Public Services Programme is creating a brand new techUK Local Public Services Case Study Hub on the techUK website. This will showcase case studies from both local authorities and techUK members which highlight successful digital, data, tech and innovation projects which have had tangible impacts in local authorities. Find out more here. 

Interested to read more about how techUK is supporting digital transformation in social care? 

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Bonded Warehouse 18 Lower Byrom St Manchester, M3 4AP Conference

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Meet the team 

Alison Young

Alison Young

Associate Director Local Public Services, techUK

Ileana Lupsa

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Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK

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Georgina Maratheftis

Georgina Maratheftis

Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK