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Contributions to committees and inquiries (August-October 2022)

Centre for Care researcher Becky Driscoll provides an update on our recent contributions to government inquiries and committees, relevant to social care and unpaid carers.

UK Houses of Parliament at night time

The Centre for Care team have recently contributed to a number of wide-ranging government inquiries and committees relevant to social care and unpaid carers:

  1. The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee call for views about the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.
  • Our written submission included evidence from Professor Catherine Needham and Dr Emily Burn on the policy implications of the Bill, as well as evidence about the care workforce and ethical commissioning from Dr Duncan Fisher, Dr Erika Kispeter and Dr Serena Vicario.
  • Professor Catherine Needham was also invited to give oral evidence to the Committee as part of its scrutiny of the Bill in October.
  1. House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee inquiry on Family Migration.
  • Our written submission draws on evidence from Professor Majella Kilkey’s research, as well as the lived expertise of our partner, BritCits.
  • Professor Majella Kilkey was involved in shaping the questions for the inquiry. A representative from BritCits was invited to give oral evidence to the Committee based on their experience of the immigration system.
  1. Senedd Cymru’s Health and Social Care Committee’s general scrutiny session with the Ministers responsible for health and social care.
  • We submitted questions about the financial hardship faced by unpaid carers and people with disabilities, and the impact of the growing shortages of workers in adult social care. We were pleased that these questions were put to Ministers during the session.
  1. House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry on the UK labour supply.
  • Our team submitted written evidence drawing on our research into the care workforce, the impact of the ageing population and unpaid carers juggling paid employment with caring responsibilities.
  1. The Fabian Society’s call for evidence for a ‘Roadmap to a National Care Service’ in England.
  • Our team submitted written evidence drawing on our research into social care reforms, projected demand for adult social care, the needs of unpaid carers, the care workforce, and the interdependencies with immigration policy and technology.
Becky Driscoll Researcher, University of Sheffield

About the author

Becky joined the Centre for Care in June 2022 as a Research Associate, working closely with Professor Sue Yeandle. Her role is to ensure that our research makes a difference to care policy, using our evidence to respond to parliamentary inquiries and government consultations across the four nations of the UK. This will include working closely with the team to gather evidence on critical and emerging issues in care, as well as synthesising the grey and academic literature and engaging with our partners in the care sector.