Older people’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, said:
“Ensuring sustainable funding for social services to provide people with the care and support they may need as they get older is essential and I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government is exploring possible ways in which this much-needed money could be raised.
“I am looking forward to reading the proposals set out in Gerry Holtham’s forthcoming report about how an insurance-based funding system could work in practice, an approach I highlighted as a potential way forward in my evidence to the National Assembly’s Finance Committee, which is currently undertaking its own Inquiry on this issue.
“However, as recently published research has demonstrated that social services spending on older people is now lower than the spending on other age groups[1], the Finance Secretary should also consider looking at the funding arrangements for the social services system as a whole to ensure that any new approach provides a long-term, sustainable solution and delivers the highest standards of care and support to everyone who needs it.”
[1] Wales Public Services 2025 / Social Care Wales (2017) A Delicate Balance? Health and Social Care Spending in Wales < https://socialcare.wales/research-and-data/research-on-care-finder/a-delicate-balance-health-and-social-care-spending-in-wales?record-language-choice=en-cy>
