30 Jul 2026
The Prime Minister’s commitment to reforming social care, including bringing forward the Casey Review by a year, is a welcome step towards addressing a challenge that has been unresolved for far too long.
But as the conversation around the future of social care continues, we need to be honest about something that is too often overlooked: social care is not just about supporting an ageing population. It also plays a vital role in enabling autistic people, people with learning disabilities and other disabled people to live independently, participate in their communities and achieve their ambitions throughout their lives.
Disabled people, their families, care providers, carers, and the voluntary and community sector all have an important role to play in shaping the future of social care and society. The voluntary and community sector is made up of organisations of all sizes, each bringing unique expertise, innovation and close connections with the communities they serve. The strongest solutions will come when that breadth of experience is recognised and valued. The organisations closest to their communities already understand many of the challenges people face and, in many cases, are already developing the innovative solutions that work and must not be forgotten as a new model of social care is forged.
At Hamelin, we see every day what can happen when support is designed around people rather than systems. Through our partnership with NHS Essex, we are supporting people with learning disabilities to attend their Annual Health Checks and develop personalised Health Action Plans. This helps people take greater control of their health while supporting the NHS to improve access, health outcomes and reallocate resources elsewhere. Through our Ability Works programme, we provide autistic adults and people with learning disabilities with personalised employment training, one-to-one mentoring and real workplace experience, helping people build confidence, develop skills and access sustainable employment. Our Links programme helps people and their families build confidence, whilst building communities of support so they can live fulfilling lives.
These innovative programmes demonstrate what effective social care should look like: personalised, community-based and preventative. They are powerful examples of organisations coming together for the greater good, with health services and the voluntary sector combining their expertise to create better outcomes for people and a sustainable future for all.
If social care reform is to deliver meaningful change, it must move beyond managing demand and focus on enabling people to live the lives they choose. That means investing in innovative approaches, building resilience, strengthening communities and creating partnerships across a breadth of partners including health, local authorities, the voluntary and community sector, and the community.
The success of social care reform should not only be measured by how well we respond when people need support. It should also be measured by how well we enable people to live fulfilling lives, contribute to their communities and achieve their ambitions.
This is an important opportunity to build a social care system that is more sustainable, more joined up and centred on the people it exists to support. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity.
Ru Watkins
Chief Executive
Hamelin