MPs have urged the Government to measure the cost of inaction on social care reform and warned that failing to do so would mean reforms are ‘doomed to failure’.

The Health and Social Care Committee said the Government has no official data on the potential monetary benefits of a reformed social care system.

A new report by the committee estimates that every £1 invested in the sector would generate a £1.75 return to the wider economy and that an extra £1bn spent on social care would create 50,000 jobs.

The committee warned that without understanding the full financial repercussions of inaction, the Government will not have a clear picture of what reforms result in the highest returns.

Committee chair Layla Moran MP, said: ‘The social care sector is rarely, if ever, discussed as a driver of economic activity, but it has enormous potential to contribute to the Government’s wider agenda on economic growth and employment.’

Responding to the report, Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock said: ‘Far from inaction, this Government has hit the ground running on social care.’

He cited the Government’s £3.7bn funding boost for the sector, 15,000 home adaptations for disabled people, a £2,000 uplift to Carer’s Allowance, and the Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.

‘A lot has been done, but we know there is so much more to do, and deep reform is needed,’ he added.

The Government published the terms of reference for the Casey Commission’s review of adult social care last week, although critics said the 2036 deadline for the implementation of reforms was ‘too late’.

Commenting on the committee’s report, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community and Wellbeing Board, said: ‘This report is right to call out the cost of inaction on adult and social care reform, and the Government must account for this in its decisions on implementing the Casey Commission recommendations.

‘These costs impact councils, providers, the wider sector and – most important of all – people who draw on adult social care.’