Care reform must end reliance on private companies warns Co-operatives UK and partners

Public money spent on social care should be reinvested in better care and fairer pay for workers, not extracted as private profit, campaigners have said following Andy Burnham's speech on social care reform.

The Reclaiming Our Regional Economies (RORE) programme says the current care system allows billions of pounds of public funding to be diverted into private profits rather than improving services. Drawing on research showing private care companies took more than £250m in profits from three English regions over three years, the partnership is calling for a care system that prioritises quality, fair pay and local communities over investor returns.

Responding to Andy Burnham's speech on social care reform (on 29 July), members of the Reclaiming Our Regional Economies (RORE) programme said it should mark the moment the government begins moving away from a system that funnels public money into private profit.

As the government considers how to structure and fund care in the future, the RORE programme, a partnership between Co-operatives UK, Centre for Local Economies (CLES), the Centre for Thriving Places (CTP) and the New Economics Foundation (NEF), is calling for reforms that would move away from profit-driven providers and towards a system that reinvests in staff and communities.

Liz Zeidler, co-director of Centre for Thriving Places, said: "With Burnham's speech, this should mark the moment that we rethink our dependence on private companies to care for us and our loved ones.

"Councils spend tens of billions a year on social care. This money should be used to improve the care that service users receive and to pay care workers what they deserve. Instead, this investment is being sucked out of the system in the form of profit and investor returns.

"Our research has found that in just three years, private care companies in three English regions have taken more than £250m in profits. We shouldn't be relying on profit-driven companies and private equity to provide such a vital public service."

Tabitha Hamilton, Co-operatives UK's ​Local Policy Analyst, said: "The debate about social care shouldn't be framed as a choice between public and private provision. Co-operatives, social enterprises and community-led organisations are already showing that it is possible to deliver high-quality care while reinvesting in workers, communities and better services, rather than extracting profits.

"Our members Cartrefi Cymru Co-operative and Equal Care Co-op demonstrate what this looks like in practice. They put relationships, dignity and worker wellbeing at the heart of care, while keeping wealth circulating locally. As the government considers the future of social care, these models should be recognised as an essential part of the solution."