In a speech at Labour Party Conference, Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that the Government will appoint a new champion for unpaid carers, alongside new measures aimed at improving the pay, conditions and financial security of the social care workforce.

In response, the Co-Chairs of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Today’s commitments are another welcome sign that social care is finally being given the attention it deserves.

“We particularly welcome the commitment to appoint a new champion for unpaid carers, to make sure their voices are heard right across Government. Millions of people provide vital care and support to family and friends, too often without the recognition or support they need and at significant cost to their own health, finances, employment and wellbeing.

“This is an important opportunity to put unpaid carers much more firmly at the heart of government decision-making. We hope the new champion will have a strong voice across departments and help ensure that the experiences of unpaid carers shape not only social care reform, but wider decisions that affect their lives.

“We also welcome the commitment to develop a national collective pension scheme for care workers, alongside the Fair Pay Agreement. Care workers do skilled, essential work, yet for too long they have faced low pay, poor terms and conditions and little financial security. These reforms must be fully and sustainably funded, so that the costs do not simply fall on already stretched providers or people who pay for their own care.

“Together with the Prime Minister’s commitment yesterday to a National Care Service, these announcements provide further momentum for reform. We now need to turn that ambition into a sustainable plan that works for older people, disabled people, unpaid carers and the social care workforce.

“Social care and the NHS are deeply interconnected, but fixing social care is about much more than relieving pressure on hospitals. Reform must ultimately be about enabling people to live the lives they choose, with dignity, independence and the right support when they need it.

“The CSA and our members look forward to working with the Government, the new unpaid carers champion and Baroness Casey as these plans develop, while continuing to make the case for action now to tackle unmet need and stabilise services.”