Ellie Chowns has thanked local people for sharing their stories which she will feed into the Casey Commission
There’s a rule in politics I stick to: good policy starts with people. That’s why much of my work on reforming adult social care has centred around listening, out in our communities where care is actually delivered and received
Ahead of the Casey Commission on adult social care’s visit to North Herefordshire in December, I wanted to ensure the widest possible amount of constituents were able to share their experiences on care to the Commission.
That’s why my team and I held a series of listening sessions across the constituency, speaking with unpaid carers, care workers, and service users, about their views on care.
I also ran a constituency-wide survey of those same groups to gather a thorough picture of what life is really like for people here relying on care.
The stories I heard were stark and familiar: barriers to access, heavy costs, burnout, and how stretched local services feel because council budgets are under strain – all of which was shared with the Commission.
Representatives from the Commission also came to North Herefordshire to meet with care workers and service users directly and hear about urgent changes the sector needs.
I also took these concerns straight to Westminster. In January I met with Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, to discuss challenges constituents shared with me about adult social care, and to raise the impact Herefordshire Council's severe financial challenges have on the care sector.
There’s no quick fix for social care, and meaningful reform will need sustained cross-party work and proper funding.
But national change starts with local stories, and I’m grateful to everyone who shared theirs. I’ll be taking those stories into the Commission's next round of cross-party talks, and keep pushing for a system that treats care as a right, not a lottery.
