The plan for health and social care plan does nothing to address the challenges faced by the sector, including increasing demand, unmet need and ever-tightening budgets, says Dr Eleanor Roy

The announcement of the Government’s plan for health and social care had many of us waiting with bated breath. Would this be the package of funding and reform that the social care sector has waited so long for? Well, it was certainly the most significant reform we’ve seen in a generation, no doubt about that. It’s a welcome step in the right direction – but it’s a long way from ‘fixing’ social care, at least so far.

Regardless of the wider debate about how it will be raised, the new health and social care levy provides a much needed source of funding. It has long been recognised that ensuring the social care system is sustainable will involve paying more into the system or a reduction in services. Post-pandemic, there is perhaps greater public understanding of this reality than ever before.