Sign the petition over National Insurance increase, ICG urges

The Independent Care Group is urging all social care providers, the entire sector workforce and the public to urgently sign a petition which calls on the Government to exempt social care from the rise in employer’s National Insurance.

They say the survival of social care services, along with jobs and workforce pay are all at risk if the National Insurance increase goes ahead.

The petition has already passed 10,000 signatures, which requires a response from the Government. Now campaigners are targeting 100,000 signatures, which would mean the petition would be considered for debate in Parliament.

The care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG) is concerned that the increase in National Insurance will place a further financial burden on care providers.

It is worried some providers will close, leading to an increase in the 2m people who currently can’t get care. It says the added NI cost, on top of increases in the National Living and National Minimum wages, could push providers over the edge.

It is backing the petition and urging everyone who works in, benefits from or cares about social care, to sign it.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “For care providers, this could well be about survival and for the workforce it is about their jobs and their pay, so it is vital that we get up to 100,000 signatures.

“With 1.7m people working in social care, hundreds of thousands of families benefiting from it and the public, it should be possible to reach that figure.

“That would demonstrate to the Government a level of feeling, worry and concern about the impact the increase in employer’s National Insurance will have of the care of older, vulnerable and disabled adults.

“It is good to hear that hospices are to be given some support in meeting this extra cost, but we must go further and ensure that all bodies delivering care to the public sector get help in meeting this burden.”

He said the Government either had to make social care providers exempt from the National Insurance increase or ring-fence funding with local authorities, that commission the bulk of care, to pay for the rise.

In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor increased employer’s National Insurance and also confirmed that the National Living Wage will go up to £12.21 an hour and the National Minimum Wage, for those aged 18 to 20, up to £10 an hour next spring.

The link to the petition is:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700080#:~:text=Petition%20Exempt%20all%20social%20care,by%20funding%20and%20staffing%20issues

ICG backs grassroots campaign over National Insurance hike

The Independent Care Group has thrown its weight behind a national campaign urging the Government to rethink budget measures they fear will cause services to collapse.

The ICG has signed up to the Providers Unite campaign, which is launched today (12 November).

Representing hundreds of social care providers across the country, Providers Unite is a grassroots campaign which centres on an impassioned plea to the Chancellor to look at the impact the increase in employer’s National Insurance and in living and minimum wages would have on social care.

It warns of a “systematic collapse of community care services across Britain” if the measures go ahead.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “Today is a pivotal day for adult social care and it is vital that we get the message across that these budget-driven increases could have devastating consequences for the safe delivery of care for hundreds of thousands of older, vulnerable and disabled people.

“The Government has to act – either by reversing the National Insurance increase for our sector or by ring-fencing additional funding to help providers meet the increase and the wages rise next spring.

“Otherwise, the result doesn’t bear thinking about for social care in this country.”

The Providers Unite letter to the Chancellor calls upon her to recognise social care as an “indispensable pillar in Britain’s healthcare infrastructure”, providing care to 1.2m people and employing almost 1.6m.

It warns of the profound impact of the proposed tax increases on people who rely on social care providers, who, like GPs, pharmacies and hospices, are independent businesses providing public care.

The letter, signed by dozens of care provider bodies, says providers could face a cost increase of up to 12% due to the National Insurance and wage increases.

Calling on the Chancellor to review the increases for social care providers, the letter adds that the sector is facing an £8.4bn funding shortfall.

This week, Mr Padgham also urged people to sign a petition to get the budget changes debated in Parliament. At the moment the petition has around 16,000 signatures. Having reached 10,000 it will elicit a response from the Government, but campaigners want to get to 100,000 signatures, which could trigger a debate.

Mr Padgham added: “For care providers, this could well be about survival and for the workforce it is about their jobs and their pay, so it is vital that we get up to 100,000 signatures.”

In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor increased employer’s National Insurance, lowered the threshold at which NI is paid and also confirmed that the National Living Wage will go up to £12.21 an hour and the National Minimum Wage, for those aged 18 to 20, up to £10 an hour next spring.

The link to the petition is:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700080#:~:text=Petition%20Exempt%20all%20social%20care,by%20funding%20and%20staffing%20issues

Govt must axe National Insurance rise for care providers, ICG says

THE Government must act quickly to axe the National Insurance increase for social care providers or risk a serious increase in the number of people going without the support they need, the Independent Care Group has warned.

The ICG said the Government must either make social care providers exempt from the increase or ring-fence funding to pay for it.

In Wednesday’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, increased employer’s National Insurance by 1.2% and lowered the threshold at which employers have to pay the tax on a worker’s earnings, from £9,100 to £5,000. The ICG says that increase, allied to steep rises in wages, could have a devastating impact on social care providers, forcing some to leave the sector. That would increase the number of people going without care, which topped 2m for the first time last month.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “The lack of understanding of the impact these cost increases will have on social care providers beggars belief and reveals a total lack of understanding over how social care works.

“The bulk of social care delivery, through homecare and residential and nursing care, is delivered by small to medium-sized businesses that are employee heavy.

“Huge increases in the costs those providers face – through the employer’s National Insurance rise and increases in the National Living and National Minimum wages, without an injection of funding to help them cope, is potentially disastrous.”

He said the Government either had to make social care providers exempt from the National Insurance increase or ring-fence funding with local authorities, that commission the bulk of care, to pay for the rise.

“The Government has to do something and it has to do it quickly, as I am already hearing from providers that this might be the last straw for some of them,” Mr Padgham added.

“They have gone through 30 years of financial cutbacks and seen funding for social care fall whilst demand for more and more complex care services increases. They cannot take any more.”

In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor increased employer’s National Insurance and also confirmed that the National Living Wage will go up to £12.21 an hour and the National Minimum Wage, for those aged 18 to 20, up to £10 an hour next spring.

Mr Padgham added: “There is clearly a lack of understanding, at the very highest level of government, about how social care works.

“Most care is provided by independent providers – in the main businesses -who are commissioned to deliver care packages for people by local authorities or Integrated Care Boards.

“Those commissioners have not been able to pay a realistic price for care for many years and that has pushed social care deeper and deeper into crisis, to the point where 2m people can’t get the care they need and there are 131,000 vacancies in the sector.

“If you pile more and more financial pressure on those providers – like National Insurance rises and increases in the minimum wage – without enabling commissioners to pay more for care, the result is inevitable; more providers leaving the sector and a further loss of care provision.

“That will increase the 2m who can’t get care and also scupper the Government’s plans to reform the NHS. It relies upon adequate provision of social care to meet its promises to move care from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention.

“We all want to pay our staff better but raising the minimum wage will put more and more pressure on to care providers, unless we get better funding into social care.”