'I'm in charge of adult social care in Doncaster - this is what Andy Burnham can do to fix our broken system'

Doncaster’s most senior official responsible for adult social care has described the “tragedy” of navigating the UK’s broken social care system, something he said we will all have to go through.

Phil Holmes, executive director for adults, wellbeing and culture at the City of Doncaster Council, said it would feel like a “dereliction of duty” if it wasn’t addressed.

Mr Holmes’ comments come in an interview following the Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to tackling the issue of social care.

He said: “It’s really important because if you went out onto the street and asked 10 Doncaster people about what they thought adult social care was you’d get 10 different answers. There’s not really a high awareness of adult social care.

“I think a lot of the time adult social care comes across as this really technical thing that happens to other people and might be associated with selling your house or not.

“People haven’t been given the opportunity to understand what it might mean to them.”

Mr Holmes, who is also the president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), described the state of the UK’s social care system as “sort of a lottery”.

“It’s a bit of a tragedy that we all have to go through that shocking surprise and realise that the way it’s set up it’s very hard to navigate. It just feels like a dereliction of duty if we’re not trying to address that for people,” he said.

“It’s kind of fundamental to the way that people live and the way that they die – in old age and in younger adults who have disabilities and health needs,” he added.

Mr Holmes is serving his one-year term as ADASS president, the first from a borough in the North since 2012.

He said: “That’s quite an honour, and I guess with the new Prime Minister more focus is on regional perspectives and not just London perspectives.

“What’s heartening about adult social care reform at the moment is that it would have been really easy for the new prime minister to hide behind what was already a helpful process in the Casey Commission, but wasn’t going to report until 2028.”

He said this would have increased the likelihood of the issue becoming “political football” ahead of the next general election.

Mr Holmes said: “The prime minister did not have to stick his neck out and, as he said, expend his own political capital on this. No one would have been surprised if he’d said ‘we’ve got a robust review, Louise Casey is the right person to lead it, I’ll wait to see what she says’.

“He recognised that if he wants to achieve change he needs to do it in the lifetime of this parliament.

“The first step to a solution is listening. It’s listening to people and what they need to live a good life, that’s always the first step.”

Mr Holmes said it was also important that social care reform is connected to Mr Burnham’s devolution ambitions.

He said: “Health and wellbeing comes through the way people live and the neighbourhoods they live. It’s not really about healthcare services, as important as they are as a safety net.

“Health and wellbeing for people, which drives their social care needs ultimately, comes from what’s around them, where they live, and local government is absolutely key to that.”

In a separate recent interview, local GP Dr Dean Eggitt explained that Doncaster’s most affluent are expected to live 10 years longer than its most deprived.

Mr Holmes said a clear connection between social care, devolution and local government is key to improving outcomes for everyone.