This briefing reviews national government policies on adult social care in England after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, covering the period between June 2020 and March 2021. This briefing follows an earlier analysis of the policy response during the first wave, published in July 2020.

In this briefing, the authors analyse policies to support adult social care during the height of the second wave of the pandemic in January and February 2021, and in the months leading up to it. They provide a narrative summary of central government policies related to adult social care in different areas, such as policies on testing and support for the workforce. They also provide a summary of the latest publicly available data on the impacts of COVID-19 on adult social care. In the final part, the authors make an assessment of the policy response since June 2020, consider how policies changed over time, and identify priorities for the future.

The authors argue that support in some areas improved after the first wave, such as access to testing and PPE, and the priority given to social care appeared to increase. However, they found that major challenges remained, policies in several areas continued to be slow, fragmented, and short-term, and gaps in the response risk increasing inequalities. Underlying structural issues – underfunding, workforce issues, fragmentation, and more – made the social care system vulnerable to a major shock.

They identify several priorities to help prepare for potential future waves of the virus. Short-term actions should include greater involvement of social care in planning and decision making, improved access to regular testing and PPE, and a commitment to cover the costs of local government’s COVID-19 response.

More fundamental reform of social care is needed to address the longstanding policy failures exacerbated by COVID-19. This reform must be comprehensive, including action to improve pay and conditions for staff, stabilise the care provider market, increase access to publicly funded services, and provide greater protection for people against social care costs.