Dartington Review on the Future of Adult Social Care: What can England learn from the experiences of other countries?

This paper discusses the future funding, organisation and delivery of adult social care by drawing on the experiences of other advanced welfare states, both in Europe and further afield. These issues are of major topical importance. In May 2008 the English Government announced a period of consultation on the future funding and delivery of care and support for disabled adults and older people. A year later, in July 2009, a Green Paper was published, this proposed a number of potentially radical changes to adult social care and a further period of consultation was announced. However, these debates are also much longer standing. They were reflected in the establishment of a Royal Commission over a decade ago and the Wanless Review into the future demand for and costs of care for older people. Despite robust projections of demographic change, particularly future population ageing, this long history and on-going consultation on options suggests that politically acceptable and economically sustainable solutions are proving hard to find. How have other countries tackled these challenges?