Today the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spending review announcement revealed significant investment in the NHS, including an additional £29bn per year and a near 50% increase in the technology budget. However, as the Liberal Democrats rightly put it, “putting money into the NHS today will be like pouring water into a leaky bucket” if we fail to fix the social care system alongside it.
We at ARC England are deeply concerned that adult social care, particularly support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people continues to be largely absent from the government’s conversation about public spending.
The NHS does not operate in isolation. Healthy communities are built through a broad ecosystem of support housing, welfare, education, and crucially, social care. Without urgent investment in social care, the pressure on the NHS will only intensify.
Learning disability and autism services delivered by our members have already endured a decade of austerity. These services are under immense strain. Any further neglect risks irreversible damage to a sector that supports some of the most marginalised people in our society. This comes at a time when demand is rising due to demographic changes and deepening inequalities.
We stand behind the vision of Social Care Future: adult social care at its best enables people to live their best lives in their own homes, with people they love, and as part of thriving, inclusive communities.
The Government must not waste this opportunity. We call for urgent and sustained investment in adult social care, so its true value can finally be realised for the individuals it supports, the professionals who deliver it, and the wider health and care system it sustains.
Now is the time to act.