CONFERENCE
Where: York Racecourse
When: Thursday 22 October 2026
iCG Honorary President Mike Padgham opened proceedings with an impassioned speech about the current state of the care system.
“Care staff continue to do an extraordinary job. They deserve recognition, respect and better pay. But fair pay must come with fair funding: we need a minimum price for care alongside minimum standards of pay.
“I welcome the Government’s commitment to reform, but people needing support cannot put their lives on hold.
“After nearly four decades in social care, I have seen too many reports identify familiar problems without the action that should follow. This report must lead to fairer commissioning, sustainable funding and a clear plan for the care our communities need.
“We know what needs to change. What we need is action this day.”
There followed fascinating insights into the leadership challenge from David Beattie from Care Ideals (a main sponsor of the event) then Jolena Bullivant-Clark, (from our other key sponsor Hempsons), gave some invaluable updates on the Supreme Court’s redefining of Deprivation of Liberty.
Major General Andrew Farquhar CBE DL (above) spoke about his long career in the military and security services and the inspiring way he approached challenging situations through calmness and teamwork. Despite the jaw dropping stories were miles away from our care world, (though one story detailed his involvement in devising solutions to the flooding in York and Selby, involving a simple but radical suggestion from a Gurkha) the analogies were striking. I’m sure we’ll be inviting Andrew (as he likes to be called) back in the future.
The interactive breakout sessions (with Clare Tomlinson of Open Minds Training, David Beattie of Care Ideals and Booby Singh from BSA Training) were very popular with delegates. Bobby Singh (above) was particularly animated and drew surprise and laughter from his audiences. Clare ‘‘s interactive presentation was inspired and inspiring.
Following a lovely lunch we were treated to talks from Victoria Marsden friom the CQC, Julie Short from Skills for Care and Nikki Meadows from the NMC, followed by a very timely talk and video about Cyber Crime from Steve Leach from the Cyber Resilience Centre.
Refreshments and lunch took place overlooking the magnificent York Racecourse and the Marketplace was a busy showcase of products or services from our iCG Partners and other exhibitors including… Hempsons, Citation, Greetwell Purchasing, Care Ideals, Myley Life, Vertex Access, Pulse, Beaucare, TL Dallas, Skills for Care, NMC and CoolCare.
Then there was the Awards Ceremony... but you can read all about that here
