Technology in social care: spotlight on the English policy landscape, 2019-2022
Dr Grace Whitfield and Dr Kate Hamblin
Aims of the paper
- To provide insight into the recent policy context related to the development and implementation of technologies in care arrangements in England (2019-2022);
- To examine the factors influencing the development and implementation of technologies in care arrangements in England;
- To update a working paper from the Sustainable Care Programme (Wright, 2020) which explored the use of digital technologies in the UK adult social care sector, 2000-19.
Structure and approach
The paper explores policy developments relevant to care and technologies between 2019 and 2022, analysing recent changes to funding structures, strategic priorities and government organisations. We adopt an approach similar to Wright (in his 2020 paper) in: how we categorise technologies used in care; in adopting a thematic approach; and in focusing on actions by national/local policy and practice and trade and industry organisations. Our paper is timely and covers years characterised by ongoing debate, policy change and new implementation of technologies in care. Unlike Wright, we concentrate on developments in England in this paper (and do not examine changes in other UK nations), in line with our plans for new fieldwork in the Centre for Care’s ‘Digital Care’ theme.
Key findings
Wright’s conclusions (2020) emphasised the ‘fragmented’ and ‘broken’ nature of the social care sector and highlighted a lack of national leadership or direction. Our paper explores this in more depth, highlighting the processes, context and factors (Hamblin et al, 2017) that affect the development and implementation of care technologies, and identifying three main issues:
- Localisation of technology implementation
- Shifts in policy focus among governmental bodies
- Increased financialisation among care and technology providers
About the authors
In her role at the Centre for Care, Grace will be working with Dr Kate Hamblin to examine the effects of technology changes on paid and unpaid care provision. The research will consider whether, and in what circumstances, digitalisation has positive or negative consequences for stakeholders. It will focus on inequalities of technology implementation, the impact of fragmentation and financialisation, and the nature of the labour process.
Kate is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities, University of Sheffield. She joined the University of Sheffield in 2018 to work on the Sustainable Care programme. She currently leads the Centre for Care’s Digital Care research theme and is the UK Networks lead for the IMPACT Centre.
Book chapters
AI in care: a solution to the ‘care crisis’ in England?
View PublicationDissertations
Men working in the adult social care sector in England: a narrative study.
Ella Monkcom August 2023, Dissertation, MA in Social Research
Journal Articles
Scholarly articles by the Centre for Care team.
The cost of caring: a scoping review of qualitative evidence on the financial wellbeing implications of unpaid care to older adults
View PublicationSupporting UK care workers through COVID-19: evidence from The Care Workers’ Charity
View PublicationInsights into Informal Caregivers’ Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Analysis of Care Intensity, Care Location, and Care Relationship.
View PublicationTechnology and homecare in the UK: Policy, storylines and practice
View PublicationThe Global Demand for Migrant Care Workers: Drivers and Implications on Migrants’ Wellbeing
View PublicationDealing with drift: Comparing social care reform in the four nations of the UK
View PublicationHow do you shape a market? Explaining local state practices in adult social care
View PublicationSustainable Social Care: The Potential of Mainstream “Smart” Technologies
View PublicationReports
What role for local government in Scotland’s National Care Service?
View PublicationValuing Carers 2021: Northern Ireland
View PublicationDigital exclusion and unpaid carers in South Yorkshire
View PublicationValuing Carers 2021: England and Wales
View PublicationCycles of caring: transitions in and out of unpaid care
View PublicationResponses to calls for evidence
The Centre for Care team regularly submit evidence to a number of wide-ranging government inquiries.
Submission to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry, ‘Digital exclusion and the cost of living’
View PublicationSubmission to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee inquiry on Family Migration
View PublicationSubmission to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee into UK Labour Supply
View PublicationSubmission to the House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee inquiry into ‘Lifting the veil: removing the invisibility of adult social care’
View PublicationSubmission to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee inquiry into ‘Post-pandemic economic growth: UK labour markets’
View PublicationSubmission to Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) inquiry into ‘Connected tech: smart or sinister?’
View PublicationExpert Panel: Evaluation of Government’s commitments in the area of the health and social care workforce in England
View PublicationHouse of Commons Health & Social Care Committee inquiry into ‘Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care’
View PublicationWorking Papers
Working Paper 4: The Transitions that Matter
View PublicationWorking Paper 3: Technology and social care: key areas of policy focus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2019-2022
View PublicationWorking Paper 2: What does the concept of an ecosystem offer to social care? A narrative review of the ecosystem literature
View PublicationWorking Paper 1: Technology in social care: spotlight on the English policy landscape, 2019-2022
View Publication