Social Care Future launches ‘Growing a brighter future together’ report and short film

At the heart of the discussion, contributors asked one simple but powerful question: “How can social care help people find and connect the relationships, resources, and support they need to live the lives they want?”

The clear message was:

“Listen to us and work with us to grow a system that actually helps people live good lives.”

The report covers 11 key themes, capturing a vision for a social care system that is human, trust-based, rights-driven, and designed in partnership with the people it exists to support. Highlights include:

• Power with, not power over: “Give people who draw on social care a chance to take up official roles in the Casey Commission and in health and social care policy-making.” Contributors want lived experience embedded at every level, not just consultation.
• Planning that starts with people’s lives: “Review assessment practices… to identify approaches that foster self-direction and creative, individual-level commissioning.” Assessments should start with what matters to people, not rigid procedures.
•  Knowledge that liberates: “Invest in creative, person-centred information, advice, and guidance services.” Guidance should fuel choice and imagination, not push people toward preset services.
• Money that enables, not restricts: “Move towards ending charges that leave people in poverty, restrict relationships, and discourage support-seeking at an early stage.” Charging systems should support wellbeing, not trap people in hardship.
• A workforce for good life, not just services: “People emphasise that workforce reform must look beyond pay and professionalisation to creativity, relationships, and community-based support…Crucially, in order to have choice and control it means supporting a diverse and diversifying workforce, including Personal Assistants, Shared Lives Carers, Local Area Coordinators, Circles Facilitators and people operating as micro-enterprises.” Contributors want a workforce supported to focus on relationships, creativity and community, giving people real choice and control.
• Early action, not crisis response: “Support approaches like ‘Live More’ [with Shared Lives], which intervenes early with people with dementia, well before formal social care eligibility is reached.” Contributors want social care understood as enabling people to live good, connected lives, not just responding to crises.

These themes, along with the others covered in the full report, collectively outline a vision for a social care system that values rights, relationships, choice, and community wellbeing and will guide the work of Social Care Future over the coming months.

Read and download the full report from the Social Care Future website.

We’d like to thank Social Care Future for inviting Shared Lives Plus to take part in this event, and for creating space for lived experience to guide reform.

We’ll keep contributing Shared Lives insights and perspectives to the Casey Commission’s ongoing work so that national recommendations can reflect what people say matters most: relationships, rights, and real choice.

If you want to follow or support this work, stay connected as we share updates and opportunities to get involved.