Baroness Casey - who is heading up a Government commission on the state of Adult Social Care, recently addressed the Nuffield Trust Summit.  Here is our response to what she said:

As the West Midlands Care Association, we welcome Baroness Casey’s frank assessment: adult social care is underfunded, undervalued, and too often a political football being kicked around Westminster.

The problems she outlines are all too familiar to our members - they leave too many people facing obstacles to timely, appropriate care in a system that encourages fragmentation, short-term decisions, and instability.

When it works well, adult social care helps people live independently, safely, and with dignity. It supports families, strengthens communities across the West Midlands, and reduces pressure on the NHS and other public services. Despite this - and the fact that the care sector employs more people than the NHS - it continues to be overlooked by national policy makers in both funding and other resources.

It is early days for the Casey Commission but we hope as it's work progresses it translates into solid recommendations for reform, particularly sustainable (and fair) funding, more consistent commissioning and recognition of our amazing workforce.

We and our colleagues at the other local care associations in England, are ready to work with the the Casey Commission and national and local government to build a fairer and more sustatinable care system that benefits both our members and those who use it in the West Midlands.

Keiron Broadbent

Chief Executive Officer

West Midlands Care Association

Do you have thoughts on this? Please reach out to the team at WMCA via

enquiries@wmca.care

This webinar hosted by Social Care people will cover

• Labour market shifts in 2026 and what they mean for social care employers
• What candidates are looking for now and how expectations have changed
• What excellent candidate experience means in practice
• Challenging outdated recruitment practices that are holding organisations back
• Practical actions to improve attraction and retention

Friday 20 March, 

10:30 am - 11:30 am