Paul Growney, Chief Executive at a North West-based homecare charity, Caring Connections, explores why social care providers are increasingly expected to deliver wider social value — from tackling isolation to supporting employment and community wellbeing — while operating under significant financial pressure and limited resources.
At Caring Connections, we like to keep things simple: we deliver social care, and we make sure it comes with real social value. As a registered charity that’s been supporting people at home for more than 33 years, we’ve learned that great care is about more than the basics. It’s about asking ourselves, “What extra can we do to make life better for the people and communities around us?”
Most of the areas we work in are among the most deprived in the UK, and that means the challenges people face go far beyond care alone. Staff, service users and the wider community all feel the impact of wider social and economic pressures. Because of that, the opportunities to add social value are huge. Could we help reduce loneliness? Could we support people into local jobs? Could we help improve community spaces? These are the kinds of questions we ask all the time. And the best way to find answers is by listening, talking to staff, service users and community leaders about what really matters, then working together on a realistic plan that can genuinely make a difference.
As care providers, we’re right at the heart of the community and often supporting some of its most vulnerable members. We see people every day, in their own homes, and we see needs that stretch far beyond traditional care. Commissioners recognise that too – they know care providers can reach people who other services simply can’t. That puts us in a unique position: we’re already there, so we can spot what’s needed and find ways to help.
Over the years, we’ve delivered so many social value projects, all shaped by local need but with a common thread of reducing isolation. We’ve brought people together through arts projects, veterans’ support, monthly community parties, heritage programmes and plenty more. Of course, funding is always a challenge, particularly when statutory care margins are already tight. As a charity, we often rely on grant funding to make these projects happen. We’ve also seen private providers set up not‑for‑profit arms specifically to deliver social value, which can be a great model too.
One ongoing challenge is when social value becomes an expectation but isn’t matched with funding. Costs like room hire, staff time and refreshments really do add up. In those cases, it might be more practical to focus on things like recruitment‑based social value: offering apprenticeships, partnering with local colleges, or supporting employability schemes. All of these make a huge difference in the community without the overheads of running large-scale projects.
We all know the system is under major financial pressure, especially in deprived areas where pay rates are already stretched. So it’s not realistic to expect commissioners to suddenly fund more social value work. Instead, the opportunity lies in weaving it into the everyday, signposting to local VCSE groups, linking with employability programmes, and building partnerships with projects already up and running.
Social value matters, and care providers can play a massive role in building stronger communities. But it has to be realistic and manageable. Start small, grow steadily, and don’t promise more than you can deliver. That’s how you build social value that lasts.
