Social Care in the UK’s Four Nations - Catherine Needham and Patrick Hall

in how much is expected of the state versus the market What is care policy trying to achieve? Wellbeing Fairness Rights Quality Sustainability Mechanisms to achieve this Redistribute the Personalise Support carers costs support Invest in Integrate with Professionalise prevention health the workforce Outcomes All four nations of the UK have made strong policy commitments to becoming more outcomes. [...] Some policy learning between the four, but different parties in power in each introduces a competitive element:: “it’s much easier to go and speak to your Swedish counterpart who you are not in competition with than to have an open conversation with UK colleagues.” (Paun et al, 2016: 15) Explaining the finding 2: the policy mix More attention needs to be given to the ‘policy mix’. [...] Direct pay- ments In 2021, Professor Nick Watson from Glasgow University gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament about the Feeley report proposals for a National Care Service: On the one hand, it suggests that good social care is the product of …a diversity of approaches that are adapted to meet the needs of the locality and the needs of each service user. [...] On the other hand, it calls for centralisation and standardisation, and institutional power… Taking stock All four nations have reformed their care systems and are on the brink of further reform Scotland has gone ‘furthest’ in the period studied, although this may have led to overload, and a lack of attention to tensions in the policy mix None of the four are clear on how to combine being mo. [...] Better are ‘clumsy’ or ‘good enough’ solutions that acknowledge tensions and encourage learning and feedback Looking forward How can policymakers be attentive to breaking down the institutional barriers to reform? What should the political process look like to negotiate between the proponents of the two paradigms?.