Welcome for Labour social care plan

The Independent Care Group today broadly welcomed proposals for social care reform outlined in Labour’s manifesto for the General Election.

But it has warned that the promises lack detail and an urgent timetable for delivery.

The ICG also says Labour could have been bolder in its reforms and made social care a much higher priority.

In its manifesto, Labour has promised “deep reform” including a National Care Service and ‘home first’ care to keep people living independently. It has also promised greater integration with NHS services and fairer pay, terms and conditions to ‘professionalise’ the workforce.

The ICG has welcomed the outline proposals but said the manifesto lacked detail.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “It is refreshing to see promises in writing from Labour on the reform of social care that we have been calling for over the past three decades.

“That excitement has to be tempered by the fact that the reforms are very much broad promises, with little detail and no timetable for delivery.

“Social care is in crisis now and we would like to see that these reforms will start on day one if Labour is elected. We have heard promises like these before and the challenge now is to see them delivered.

“And we must ensure that funding is properly addressed. Many of the reforms and improvements outlined will need investment. If, for example, Labour promises an increase in care workers’ pay then it has to be accompanied by a promise that local authorities – who commission the bulk of care from providers – will have the funding needed to ensure they pay a rate that enables providers to meet any new pay rate.

“Many, particularly smaller providers, are struggling to meet the latest increase in the national living wage and national minimum wage and without more funding will not be able to meet further rises.”

The ICG has been calling on the major parties to make social care reform a major issue at the General Election.

In its manifesto, the ICG calls for the creation of a National Care Service, bringing NHS healthcare and social care under one roof, allied to greater investment in the sector and better recognition and reward for the workforce. It wants to see care provided for the 1.6m people who currently can’t access it and dementia treated like other serious conditions like heart disease and cancer and its treatment funded through the NHS.

The ICG says the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and staff shortages followed years of neglect and under-funding by politicians from all parties and combined to leave the sector in deep crisis.

• The ICG manifesto has been sent to all the main party leaders. It incorporates the ICG’s Five Pillars of Social Care Reform document, which proposes ring-fencing a percentage of GDP for care, creating a National Care Service, setting a minimum carer wage, establishing a task force for reform and creating fair tariffs for services such as care beds and homecare visits.

Read the ICG manifesto here: https://www.independentcaregroup.co.uk/manifesto

The Independent Care Group has given a cautious welcome to Conservative promises of a cap on care costs, outlined today in the party’s General Election manifesto.

The ICG said it had heard the promise many times before and wanted to see a cast-iron guarantee that this time it would be delivered.

ICG Chair, Mike Padgham said: “Delivering the Dilnot recommendation of a cap on care costs would be positive and would help people cope with the cost of care and avoid having to sell their homes to pay for it.

“However, this measure has been promised time and time again and has been repeatedly kicked down the road – I think before we cheer this news, we would want to see it actually happen.”

Aside care costs, the Conservatives promised “to give local authorities a multi-year funding settlement to support social care and to attract and retain a high-quality care workforce, make reforms to shape the market for older people’s housing and support unpaid carers”.

Mr Padgham said such “vague pledges” did not deliver the bold reform that social care needs.

“I hear Mr Sunak say that the public are frustrated with him and the Conservatives and say that, yes, I am frustrated that once again social care has been relegated to a paragraph in the manifesto,” he added. “It is so high in the party’s priorities that it was not even mentioned in this morning’s speech. The Conservatives continue to run away from social care.

“We see very little sign of the reform and investment needed to end the current crisis. There is no promise to bring care to the 1.6m people who can’t access it, no measures to properly reward staff and tackle the 152,000 workers shortage and no long-term vision to create a National Care Service and provide proper cradle to the grave care for everyone who needs it.

“After some positive reforms outlined by the Liberal Democrats yesterday, we were optimistic that the Conservatives would follow that with some bold and radical proposals for social care of their own. But it hasn’t happened.

“What is outlined today does not recognise the vital role social care plays in looking after older and vulnerable adults and working side by side with the NHS.

“What Rishi Sunak promised today on NHS healthcare will not be deliverable unless investment and reform are put into social care at the same time. The two work side by side.”

The ICG has been calling on the major parties to make social care reform a major issue at the General Election.

In its manifesto, the ICG calls for the creation of a National Care Service, bringing NHS healthcare and social care under one roof, allied to greater investment in the sector and better recognition and reward for the workforce. It wants to see care provided for the 1.6m people who currently can’t access it and dementia treated like other serious conditions like heart disease and cancer and its treatment funded through the NHS.

Yesterday the Liberal Democrats promised free personal care, a new minimum wage for care workers, a Royal College of Care Workers and an increase in Carers’ Allowance to support unpaid carers.

The ICG says the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and staff shortages followed years of neglect and under-funding by politicians from all parties and combined to leave the sector in deep crisis.

• The ICG manifesto has been sent to all the main party leaders. It incorporates the ICG’s Five Pillars of Social Care Reform document, which proposes ring-fencing a percentage of GDP for care, creating a National Care Service, setting a minimum carer wage, establishing a task force for reform and creating fair tariffs for services such as care beds and homecare visits.

Read the ICG manifesto here: www.independentcaregroup.co.uk/manifesto

Welcome for Lib Dem care pledges. Promises are a challenge to other parties

The Independent Care Group today welcomed Liberal Democrat Manifesto promises on social care and described them as a gauntlet to other major parties to deliver bold reform on the care of older and vulnerable adults.

The party has promised free personal care, a new minimum wage for care workers, a Royal College of Care Workers and an overhaul of the Carers’ Allowance to support unpaid carers.

The Independent Care Group (ICG) welcomed the Liberal Democrat proposals but warned that they don’t go far enough. It has called on the other main parties to stop running away from social care and to match and beat the Liberal Democrat promises.

The provider group’s Chair, Mike Padgham said: “How refreshing it was to see a major politician put health and social care at the heart of a manifesto today.

“Ed Davey showed great personal understanding and the Liberal Democrats have shown that politicians are listening to our concerns on social care and are prepared to put some very sensible proposals in their manifesto to begin tackling the issues.

“There was a great recognition that investing in social care will help save the NHS and help the economy and the country.

“Above all, what this does today is say to the other major parties, “Here is our plan, what are you going to do about social care?”

“In particular, I welcome the Liberal Democrat’s promise to introduce levels of free personal care, introduce a carer’s minimum wage, the Royal College of Care Workers and reform of the carer’s allowance to better support unpaid carers.

“They are right that we need to bring more staff into social care, and improving their pay will help towards that. We are currently short of 152,000 social care staff and will need more than 440,000 more by 2035.

“Where the Liberal Democrats fall short is in being even more bold and going for a true, root and branch reform of social care, which requires the creation of a National Care Service, to bring NHS and social care under one roof and better investment into social care to make that possible.

“As set out in our manifesto, we must get care to the 1.6m people who currently can’t access it and we must implement the Dilnot recommendations in full, including the setting of a limit on care costs so that people do not have to sell their home to pay for care. And we must treat dementia like other serious conditions like heart disease and cancer and fund its treatment through the NHS.”

In its manifesto, the ICG is calling for reform of social care on a scale not witnessed in healthcare since Aneurin Bevan created the NHS in 1948. It calls for the creation of a National Care Service, bringing NHS healthcare and social care under one roof, allied to greater investment in the sector and better recognition and reward for the workforce.

The ICG says the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and staff shortages followed years of neglect and under-funding by politicians from all parties and combined to leave the sector in deep crisis.

• The ICG manifesto has been sent to all the main party leaders. IT incorporates the ICG’s Five Pillars of Social Care Reform document, which proposes ring-fencing a percentage of GDP for care, creating a National Care Service, setting a minimum carer wage, establishing a task force for reform and creating fair tariffs for services such as care beds and homecare visits.

Read the ICG manifesto here: https://www.independentcaregroup.co.uk/manifesto