Campaigners gather outside Parliament to tell the Government, "Don’t ignore social care in the Budget".
In the lead up to Wednesday’s Budget, Look Ahead joined sector partners from the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) outside Parliament to stand up for social care.
Look Ahead staff came together with over 60 older and disabled people, unpaid carers, CSA members and care professionals to deliver the message “Don’t ignore social care in the Budget” to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The action was led by the CSA, a coalition of charities and campaigners, representing millions of people with care and support needs.
As the group’s co-chairs point out in a letter to the Chancellor, social care in England has been “chronically underfunded” and “ignored by successive Governments” leaving at least 2.6 million people to go without the care they need.
In response to this situation, the CSA is calling on the Government to:
- Address the shortfall in social care spending and put in place a long-term funding commitment to meet future demand. Piecemeal pots of funding will not deliver the change, services, or stability the sector and care users need.
- Provide additional funding to enable local authorities to tackle social care assessment and carer’s assessment waiting lists, so that they can fulfil their statutory duties under the Care Act 2014.
- Address the core issues facing the social care workforce – including pay conditions and levels, career pathways and skills recognition – as a matter of priority.
- Remove social care charging entirely for working-aged disabled adults, so they do not have to part-fund their care from state benefits designed to pay for daily living costs, like food and heating.
The call also emphasises that Government investment in the social care sector would contribute to economic stability and growth, while freeing up public funds, saying: “supporting people – both those of working-age who draw on care and support, and unpaid carers – to enter the labour market or return to work, would bring clear economic benefits to the state. Significant cash savings would also accrue to the NHS from providing good care out of hospital and preventing long, costly hospital stays.”
Look Ahead echoes the CSA’s calls, and we hope that the Government will decide to give social care the long-term support and investment it needs.
