A Message from Care England's CEO

"It has been shocking to see the way in which Baroness Casey has been making ill-informed comments about profit in the care sector. The real issue is how do we get governments to develop a system that gives people the best possible outcomes, that is underpinned by a long-term and sustainable funding settlement .

There are those, in politics and the media, who constantly say that the only way to deliver good services is through the public sector. Sadly, the evidence does not support this assumption. Hardly a week goes by without another scandal in the NHS, and the inevitable (and very expensive) Inquiry that follows. It is interesting to note that with all this evidence piling up there still seems to be a blind spot in the mind of politicians and much of the media, which translates into an "Animal Farm" like chant, of "public sector good; private sector bad." When you talk to people who need care and support, very seldom do they lead with the issue of what legal structure lies behind the service. What they really want is something that meets their needs in a timely and effective way, and enables them to live their best life. I really want to urge Baroness Casey to focus on people and outcomes rather than organisations and processes, and to craft a solution that gives better access and more choice to high quality services, whoever it is who provides them."

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive, Care England