“It’s hard to see looking at these measures the NHS and social care systems being fully integrated as they should be and it’s very hard to see an end to the workforce crisis, which sees 40 per cent turnover in many companies,” he said. 

He added that without further measures and investment “we will continue to see hospital wards full of people who should be discharged and older people not getting the care they need because the carers do not exist”.

Robert Jenrick, the former communities secretary, also suggested the plan was flawed, noting that just 15 per cent of the additional revenue “is going to flow through to local authorities to improve the quantity and quality of care”.

While the white paper attracted criticism regarding recruitment and retention of a dwindling workforce, it also included plans to increase the prestige of a career in care, with the rollout of a Care Certificate to create a care delivery standard recognised across the sector.

It also acknowledged the “immense sacrifice” made throughout the pandemic by the social care workforce and revealed that some of the funding would be used to “kickstart a focus on wellbeing” to offer counselling, a bespoke support helpline and mental health training to workers.

‘The scale of the challenge is huge’

However, Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK, said: “The scale of the challenge is huge and demands urgent action now,” she said. “Rather than the formula one vehicle that was required, the Paper is an underpowered saloon car at best.”

Dr Sanjeev Kanoria, the founder and Chairman of Advinia Health Care, one of the biggest care providers in the UK, highlighted that 50 per cent of councils have reported care home closures and accused the Government of “kicking the can down the road”.

“With nowhere to go, many older people are left languishing in expensive NHS beds, causing hospital waiting lists to grow to catastrophic levels. This white paper does nothing to tackle the shocking scale of unmet need, and to provide the necessary funding to support the sector through what will be an exceptionally difficult winter,” he said.

“This is yet another example of kicking the can down the road. The sector urgently requires a long-term, legally binding, and sustainable funding from the government, as it has made with its spending commitments to the NHS.”

Our plan will end the pain of catastrophic care costs

by Gillian Keegan, the minister for care and mental health

We promised to tackle the challenges facing adult social care and that is precisely what we are doing.

There are no easy answers to the complex challenges of an ageing population and growing adult social care needs, a situation mirrored across the world.

Our long term vision for social care, laid out in this white paper and supported by the £5.4 billion Health and Social Care Levy, is part of a package of measures designed not just see us through the pandemic but to provide a suitable and sustainable adult social care system for the future.

This is about getting the right balance between personal and public contributions with a charging system which is necessary, fair and responsible.

The transformed social care system will include a limit to the cost of care for everyone, increased state support, apply to people in both residential and at home care and mean nobody is forced to sell their homes in their lifetime.

We are reforming the system to ensure everyone has the choice, control and support to live independent lives. To ensure everyone can access outstanding and personalised care and support. And finally to ensure adult social care is fair and accessible to all who need it.

This will require physical and digital infrastructure which is why we are investing £300 million in housing to help people remain in their homes or appropriate supported housing settings with upgrades to homes, such as stairlifts or wetrooms.

On the digital side we will be spending £150 million on technology such as sensors to help monitor without disturbing the sleep of those receiving care unnecessarily and improving access to digital records so everyone has the right information at the right time to provide the best care.

We are giving a record £4.8 billion for local authority support, providing £162.5 million as part of workforce recruitment and retention fund and £388 million for infection and prevention control support but this is about more than figures on a spreadsheet.

This is about people, about the carers, the people receiving care and their families.

I had the pleasure of meeting a couple in their nineties this week, able to remain together with support from a home care provider. They spoke about how important it was for them to be able to stay together in the house they had lived in for 64 years with the support to make it happen.

Our care staff have our admiration for their tireless work and we will support them to train and gain qualifications – backed by £500 million.

Everyone will benefit from these changes and we have introduced a cap of £86,000 on care costs to help everyone plan for the future.

No one will have to sell their home in their lifetime. People are able to take out a Deferred Payment Agreement so that payments can be deducted from their estate after they die. And if someone or their spouse lives in their home, they will not be forced to sell it to pay for care.

This will end the pain of those catastrophic care costs so more people can preserve their savings and assets and pass something on to their loved ones.