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14th August 2018

Letter from Paul Najsarek, Solace spokesperson for Wellbeing, to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Rt. Hon. Matt Hancock

To the Rt. Hon. Matt Hancock,

On behalf of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Solace), I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. As the representative body for over 1300 Chief Executives and Senior Managers in local government, our members play an invaluable role in ensuring the best possible outcomes for communities across the UK and in delivering the policy ambitions of both national and local politicians to this end.

I write to you as the Society’s spokesperson for Wellbeing to offer our support and assistance to you in ensuring the sustainability of the health and social care system going forward. As local government leaders, we want to support people to live independent, fulfilled lives for as long as possible and we have shown to be very effective in doing so when we have the right funding. The near continuous decrease in Delayed Transfer of Care numbers is a strong example of this. We have consistently argued that there can be no sustainable future for the NHS without urgent
reform and investment in social care.

Over the last few years, councils have been working towards better integration with our health partners in order to use our limited resources as effectively as possible and achieve the best outcomes for our communities. However, there is much more we could if the right frameworks, governance and funding was in place to truly support integration and prevention. We welcome your prioritisation of prevention and public health in your speech to hospital staff on the 20th July and we are keen to see this reflected similarly when you outline your plans for the Social Care Green Paper. We are now in critical need of a green paper which moves the debate forward and provides realistic options that will address both the immediate and long term funding challenges.

As you embark on your new role and set your agenda for the Department this parliament, we would welcome an early opportunity to meet with you and your team to better understand how we can help take forward government policy. I have previously written on what the key tests for social care reform and would be keen explain these further and more broadly to offer the critical insight and experience of local government leaders to ensure reforms can be delivered as effectively as possible.

We would be pleased to arrange a meeting at the Department at the earliest mutual convenience. Arrangements can be made by emailing vanessa.lucas@solace.org.uk

Yours Sincerely

Paul Najsarek Solace Spokesperson for Wellbeing Chief Executive London Borough of Ealing