- Conference
- 2022 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 15 February 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference recognises that the integration of health and social services is a long-mooted ambition across the UK from large parts of the worlds of local government and health.
However, conference notes that in the few instances where health and social care integration is taken forward, the role of local government in the provision of social care services is often greatly diminished or sidelined completely, as could result from the new Westminster Health and Care Bill.
Conferences notes that the delivery of social care services across the UK, with a continued preference for the use of outsourced employers in place of in-house provision, is often problematic and damaging to the terms and conditions of our members. However, to diminish the democratic accountability that local councils have is something that should be resisted whenever greater integration takes place.
Conference condemns the recent actions of the Westminster government. The lack of sufficient funding, the inability to provide an urgent pay uplift and the recent white paper’s failure to provide a major system overhaul are deeply damaging for the care sector. The planned social care cap also disproportionately benefits the wealthiest in society. But it also places a serious question mark against the government’s claims that their new social care bill will bring about greater integration between health and social care. It is impossible to expect integration to be a success when one half of the partnership continues to operate in crisis mode, without a sufficiently ambitious route map to a more sustainable future. Furthermore, the Health and Care Bill proposes a ‘discharge to assess’ approach that could increase demand on woefully overstretched community services.
Conference also expresses concern about the Scottish government’s intention to marginalise the involvement of local councils in the delivery of social care services.
Conference believes that care services perform better when the voice of the workforce is recognised and heard. Therefore, conference believes that greater integration of health and care services should include far greater representation for the workforce in decision-making.
Conference understands that this will only be achieved through efforts at all levels and sectors within the union, but that local government branches will play a significant part in this. Conference therefore calls on the Service Group Executive to:
1)Campaign to ensure that local councils and trade unions are given an equal partnership role alongside health colleagues in any future iterations of health and care;
2)Continue to campaign and lobby for far better funding for the social care sector, to ensure that integrated health and care services can be delivered in the public sector and commissioned fairly and efficiently;
3)Work with other service groups to establish a working group to determine what training, resources and campaign materials branch activists might require, to enable them to positively engage with and influence any attempts to integrate health and care services in their area;
4)Through Labour Link, work with Labour MPs, other elected politicians and Labour policy making structures to embed UNISON’s approach to health and care integration within Labour Party policy;
5)Work with residents and community groups on this campaign.