CARERS have urged the government to focus on how the social care sector is funded rather than the “structures sitting above it,” amid reports that plans for a standalone national care service have been abandoned.

The Care Association Alliance warned the sector must not be overlooked, after reports emerged that the government is no longer considering a separate arm’s-length body to oversee adult social care reform.

Association co-chairwoman Melanie Weatherley said social care “does not need its own version of the NHS,” but added: “What worries me is the risk that dropping the idea of a new body quietly becomes an excuse to drop social care altogether, as it has been so many times before.”

Ms Weatherley said providers were paid rates that did not cover their costs and families faced unpredictable bills, adding: “None of that changes by creating or removing an organisation. 

“It changes only with a national funding settlement, and that is the work ministers cannot afford to leave until 2028.”