• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Millions cut from funding commitments for social care

The Government insisted it remains ‘fully dedicated’ to the 10-year vision for adult social care set out in a White Paper at the end of 2021.

Joseph Connor by Joseph Connor
2023-04-04 11:10
in News, Politics
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Funding promised for the social care workforce in England has been halved, the Government has confirmed.

Millions of pounds have been removed from previously announced funding for a sector which a recent report warned is “on the precipice” amid rising costs and difficulty recruiting staff.

In its People at the Heart of Care White Paper on adult social care reform, published in December 2021, the Government pledged to invest “at least £500 million over the next three years to begin to transform the way we support the social care workforce”.

It said this “dedicated investment in knowledge, skills, health and wellbeing and recruitment policies will improve social care as a long-term career choice”.

But the Department of Health and Social Care has now said its “call for evidence in partnership with Skills for Care on a new care workforce pathway and funding for hundreds of thousands of training places, including a new Care Certificate qualification”, would be backed by £250 million.

The 2021 White Paper also promised to invest “at least £150 million” in digitisation across the sector.

The department said that figure is now £100 million, which will cover investment in digital social care records, as it said £50 million had already been spent.

Tuesday’s announcement did not mention the previously-announced £25 million to support unpaid carers or the £300 million mentioned in the white paper to integrate housing into local health and care strategies.

The King’s Fund health think tank said the measures were “a dim shadow of the widescale reform to adult social care that this Government came into office promising” while Age UK described them as not being “remotely enough to transform social care”.

RelatedPosts

Eagle-eyed viewer spots something pretty disconcerting about how Rishi Sunak wears his glasses

The journalist who turned over Matt Hancock could have just snipered Boris Johnson

Johnson hands WhatsApps and notebooks to Cabinet Office amid Covid inquiry row

Veteran who became alcoholic after late-term miscarriage now helps others combat addiction after her son raised concerns

Social care minister Helen Whately, who spoke at the annual Care England conference last month to insist she was part of a Government that “backs social care”, said the package announced on Tuesday “focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves”.

She said: “Care depends completely on the people who do the caring – that’s over a million care staff working in care homes and agencies, and countless relatives, friends and volunteers, acting out of the kindness of their hearts.

“That’s why this package of reforms focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves, while also focusing on the better use of technology, the power of data and digital care records, and extra funding for councils – aiming to make a care system we can be proud of.”

A report released in March from Care England and the Hft care provider for people with learning disabilities warned that adult social care was “on the precipice” when it came to costs, with 42% of those surveyed having closed down part of their organisation or handed back contracts to local authorities due to financial pressures.

Social care minister Helen Whately said the Government is committed to creating a
Social care minister Helen Whately (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA)

The low level of pay for care staff was considered the biggest barrier to recruitment and retention, the report said.

In its announcement on Tuesday, the Government said its “refreshed plan to bolster the adult social care workforce” would speed up discharge from hospital and accelerate the use of technology in the sector over the next two years.

The department said it will launch an Older People’s Housing Taskforce in partnership with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities “to decide how best to provide a greater range of suitable housing depending on the support people need”.

It said £1.6 billion will be allocated over the next two years to improve hospital discharge.

Recent analysis by the King’s Fund estimated that delays in people leaving hospital in England could be costing an average of £395 per night, and suggested issues with social care and housing could be contributing to delayed discharges.

The Government said it remains “fully dedicated to the 10-year vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper”.

At the autumn statement, the Government pledged to support adult social care services “backed by up to £7.5 billion over the next two years” to help local authorities address waiting lists and workforce pressures in the sector.

The Chancellor’s spring statement in March was criticised by various organisations in the sector for failing to mention social care.

King’s Fund director of policy Sally Warren questioned why the Government appeared to be “silent” on its previous commitment to unpaid carers and branded it “short-sighted for Government to row back on what was already minimal funding and limited efforts to reform and improve social care in areas such as housing, technology and supporting the workforce”.

Age UK’s director Caroline Abrahams said millions of older and disabled people and their unpaid carers “needed something far bigger, bolder and more genuinely strategic to give them hope for the future”.

She added: “The truth is the measures in this plan are generally quite modest and foundational, so although mostly welcome in themselves, they aren’t remotely enough to transform social care, and that’s what we needed to see today.

“With quite a chunk of the money originally promised for care now no longer available, our CSA (Care Support Alliance) members are telling us this is just the latest in a long series of disappointments so far as recent government performance on social care is concerned.”

You may also like: Ofcom investigating GB News over Tory MPs’ interview with Chancellor

Content Protection by DMCA.com
Tags: Social care

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending

Elevenses: The Thing About Wrexham’s Cinderella Story

Elevenses: Exposing the Tories’ Deepfake Illegal Immigration Bill

Elevenses: Rishi’s Finest Hour

More from TLE

Young doctors’ bodies ‘age six times faster than normal due to stress of the job’

4 Biggest Sports Betting Trends in 2019

‘The party’s over, Boris’: Newspapers react to latest lockdown breaches

Set For Life Results for Monday 11 July 2022 Tonight’s winning numbers

What Would A Purely British Pub Look Like?

Swapping from Coke to Diet Coke has no effect on weight loss

Met Police arrest anti-lockdown protesters as Covid cases spiral out of control in London

Farewell fish and chips? UK super trawler unable to fish since Brexit

Boris Johnson spotted on holiday AGAIN

Mobile app revolutionises the lives of vulnerable people in Kenya

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.