An influential group of MPs has called for the creation of a single social care commissioning system in each area, with local authorities at the heart of its creation and accountability.
The fragmented nature of current care services is providing inefficient and lower-quality care, often leading to vulnerable people developing more acute problems and burdening the NHS' frontline, the Commons health select committee reported on 8 February.
In response to these challenges, former health secretary and chair of the cross-party group, Stephen Dorrell, said: ‘We recommend that the Government should place a duty on the new clinical commissioning groups and local councils, to create a single commissioning process, with a single accounting officer, and a single outcomes framework for older people's health, care and housing services in their area.'
This, he said, would improve outcomes by making it easier to move money around different systems and also help the NHS to reach its target of 4% of savings annually for four years.
The MPs stated that central government, NHS bodies and local authorities ‘will need to establish robust procedures to ensure effective financial accountability' with the single commissioning bodies.
Mr Dorrell said health and wellbeing boards, outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill, were an ‘embryonic' version of a single commissioning body but the Government ‘did not follow it through to the point where it's a fully integrated system'.
The report states the holder of a single commissioning budget will need ‘local democratic accountability for its decisions' which could be achieved through council control over the health and wellbeing boards.
The MPs also accept there is a ‘funding gap' in social care services.
As The MJ went to press this week, a landmark social care case was due to be heard at the Supreme Court. A severely-disabled resident and four charities have appealed Cambridgeshire CC's settlement for the resident's care. If successful, the appeal could remove councils' ability to consider their finances when assessing people for social care.
