Date published: April 30, 2024
Minister praises Shared Lives in speech to Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
Last week saw the ADASS Spring Seminar, the annual event for social care leaders to learn, share, develop ideas and support each other.
In the Minister Session on April 25th, Minister for Social Care, Helen Whately MP delivered a speech where she spoke about workforce reform, the impact of tech and innovation, and the role of unpaid carers in delivering social care.
She also specifically highlighted Shared Lives as a ‘brilliant’ example of choice and diversity in social care.
“Last month we announced the first £20 million in funding from the Accelerating Reform Fund – which is our scale to innovate approaches to delivering care.
On the day of the launch of that fund, I visited the home of Sarah, a Shared Lives carer in Wantage.
And at her home I saw what she does for people who spend time in her home, like Ruthie who has Downs Syndrome and goes there for short breaks and Sammy who originally came for a brief stay with Sarah and two years later is still there, because in Sarah she found the family she needed but never had before.
So when I talk about choice and diversity in social care and avoiding a one size fits all, I think Shared Lives is one of the most brilliant examples of that.
And I’m delighted that 15 areas of the country are using their Accelerated Reform Funding to scale up Shared Lives care.”
You can read the full speech on the gov.uk website.
Minister for Care @Helen_Whately talks about the complexity of adult social services and how a one size fits all approach doesn’t work. She says our care system must be informed by what people who draw on care want #springseminar24 pic.twitter.com/q14RuwIk5t
— ADASS (@1adass) April 25, 2024
Shared Lives care is delivered locally through registered Shared Lives schemes, like Oxfordshire County Council Shared Lives Scheme. who recruit Shared Lives carers, like Sarah, and match them with adults who need support.
The Oxfordshire household visited by the Minister is just one of thousands of Shared Lives households in the UK, where 9,000 Shared Lives carers have opened their hearts and their homes.
