2 May 2025
Today, 2 May 2025, the independent commission into adult social care, chaired by The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB, has been launched.
In response, Kathryn Smith OBE, Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), said:
For too long, we’ve been stuck in social care’s version of Groundhog Day with report after report, commission after commission, but little in the way of lasting change. The Casey Commission is our moment to break the cycle. This is not just about fixing a broken system; it’s about reimagining how we care for each other as a society.
Public understanding and support have been a missing link in previous attempts to reform the care sector. The Commission gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to build consensus across the public, politicians and the social care sector to secure a system that helps people live the lives they want – in homes they love, connected to their communities, with control and dignity.
The significance of the Commission can’t be understated. With issues including unmet care needs, workforce shortages, and financial strain on local authorities and providers, the social care sector is in desperate need of a robust plan for change.
We are ready to work with Baroness Casey and partners across the sector – crucially people who draw on care and support and their family carers – to create sustainable solutions. Let this be the Commission that ends the political gridlock, builds consensus, and delivers the fair, resilient, and equitable social care system that people not only need, but deserve.
Kathryn Smith OBE
Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
Notes to editors
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading social care improvement independent charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK. We also work closely with related services such as health care and housing. We improve the quality of care and support services for adults and children by:
- Identifying and sharing knowledge about what works and what’s new.
- Supporting people who plan, commission, deliver and use services to put that knowledge into practice.
- Informing, influencing and inspiring the direction of future practice and policy.
Our mission is to support best practice, shape policy and raise awareness of the importance of social care, working together. With the government’s ambition of reducing consultancy bills, SCIE can serve as the not-for-profit partner of government, working collaboratively to identify and implement improvements.
If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact media@scie.org.uk