The decision by the government to bring forward the publication of the Casey Review has rightly reignited a national debate about the future of adult social care. For too long, social care has been discussed primarily through the lens of pressure: rising demand, workforce shortages, increasing complexity of need and the significant financial challenges facing councils across the country.
Those challenges are real. But if reform is to succeed, it must also recognise that technology and artificial intelligence have a vital role to play in helping people live more independent, fulfilling lives, while freeing up staff from purely administrative jobs to create a more sustainable social care system.
Here in Suffolk, we have seen first-hand the difference technology can make when it is used thoughtfully, responsibly and with a clear focus on improving outcomes for people. Through our Cassius digital care programme, launched in partnership with Alcove and Rethink Partners, thousands of residents have benefited from personalised technology that helps them remain safe, connected and independent in their own homes.
Since its launch in 2021, more than 14,000 referrals have been made into Cassius and around 6,900 people have benefited from digital care technology. Nearly half have had their needs met without requiring another long-term service. But the real story lies not in the numbers themselves, but in what they represent.
Whether it is falls detection equipment, communication devices, discreet monitoring technology or other forms of digital support, technology can provide options that traditional models of care often cannot. It can reduce isolation, provide reassurance to families and carers, and help prevent needs escalating into crises that require hospital admission or intensive interventions.
Importantly, technology is not replacing human care. Good social care will always be built on compassionate, skilled professionals who develop trusted relationships with the people they support. Technology should be viewed as another tool that enables those professionals to deliver better outcomes and gives people greater control over how they receive support.
The same principle applies to artificial intelligence.
AI is sometimes portrayed as something to be feared. In reality, many of the opportunities it presents are practical and immediate. Within Adult Social Care, we are already using AI-powered voice-to-text transcription to reduce administrative burdens and allow practitioners to spend more time having meaningful conversations with adults and carers, rather than sitting behind a screen writing up notes.
Used responsibly, AI can help free professionals from routine administrative tasks and create more time for what matters most: supporting people. In doing so, it can help make social care more personalised, more responsive and ultimately more human.
One lesson from Suffolk is that scale matters. Councils like Suffolk County Council are large enough to invest in innovation, build partnerships with industry and test emerging technologies at scale. That ability has enabled us to develop ideas such as Cassius, invest in digital care technology and explore how artificial intelligence can support both residents and frontline practitioners.
As Government considers the future shape of local government alongside the future of adult social care, it is vital that reform does not undermine the financial resilience and capacity needed to make those investments. Creating smaller councils with smaller budgets risks reducing the ability to invest in innovation, technology and service transformation at the scale required.
Digital care programmes such as Cassius require significant upfront investment, specialist expertise and the confidence to take a long-term view. Those opportunities are more likely to be available to financially resilient organisations with the scale to innovate. If technology and AI are to be at the forefront of social care reform, councils must have the capacity to invest in them.
The experiences we have seen in Suffolk show what can be achieved when councils have both the ambition and the ability to invest in innovation. Suffolk County Council has invested £12.4 million in the Cassius programme. That investment has supported better outcomes for residents while also generating more than £21 million in budgeted savings, demonstrating that improving lives and delivering value for taxpayers can go hand in hand.
The Casey Review provides an opportunity to rethink how social care is delivered and how we better support people to live independently for longer. I welcome that debate, but if reform is not accompanied by sustainable funding, there is a risk that even the best ideas will struggle to achieve meaningful change.
Technology and AI are not silver bullets, nor can they solve every challenge facing the sector. But they are powerful tools that can help people remain independent, strengthen dignity, increase confidence and enable services to become more preventative and sustainable.
If Government is serious about reforming adult social care for the long term, technology and AI must be at the forefront of that transformation.
