"A great conversation starter, but real subsitute to the long delayed Government White Paper on Social Care": HfT responds to the Local Government Association Green Paper

Hft has welcomed the Local Government Association's (LGA) "The lives we want to lead" green paper as an important start to the conversation on social care funding. In its response. The charity calls for the conversation to move beyond simply focusing on elderly care, and for greater inclusion of people supported by social care services, and those who support them, in the decisions that affect them.

Hft also facilitated responses from Voices to be Heard, the speak out group for people supported by the charity and also from Hft's Family Campaign Champions, a group of family advocates with relatives supported by the charity. In their submissions for the LGA green paper, the groups gave their views on the current provision of social care services, and the effects that funding cuts have had on them.

When asked why good social care matters, one family member commented: "They say it takes a village to raise a child. For me, social care is the 'village' which helps look after my daughter. Not just family, friends and Hft, but how we support her into the wider world to engage with others."

Billy Davis, Public Affairs & Policy Manager, commented: "With the number of providers in the learning disability sector now operating at a deficit, having trebled from 11% to 34% over the past year, we welcomed the fact that the LGA has begun the conversation on the future funding of social care. In our response, we have put forward the case that the conversation needs to move away from elderly care and also include adults with learning disabilities, which accounts for over one-third of adult social care spend in England.

"However, this LGA green paper is no substitute for the long-awaited government green paper. With over a year passing since the government originally promised to deliver its green paper on the future of adult social care, we call on the government to remain committed to publishing their green paper in the autumn."