Charities welcome announcement of social care workforce winter funding, but warn that long term funding and reform remain crucial

An alliance of over 60 of England’s leading charities has welcomed the news that previously pledged investment in the sector will support recruitment and retention of staff, but said long-term sustainable funding and reform is still needed to properly address systemic challenges.

The Government said the £600 million funding will support the social care workforce and boost capacity, therefore supporting the NHS ahead of winter and into next year.

The investment includes a £570 million workforce fund over two years, distributed to local authorities, and £30 … Read the rest

Incoming PM needs to act fast, says Care and Support Alliance, as new analysis finds 2.6m aged 50+ now have some unmet need for social care 

The reforms Boris Johnson announced will not and cannot ‘fix social care’ because they don’t improve the quality and availability of care – the new Prime Minister must go further 

New analysis by Age UK for the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) * has found that a massive 2.6 million people aged fifty and above are living with some form of unmet need for care in England. This is the best estimate so far produced for the numbers of people … Read the rest

CSA’s response to the 2021 Comprehensive Spending Review

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK and Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Today, social care needed a big injection of guaranteed, additional funding for now and the future, but the Chancellor didn’t deliver it. The extra money that was announced for local government was not ring-fenced for social care and will need to be stretched thinly across council services, after a decade of under-funding.”

“The end result is that there is no relief in sight for … Read the rest

CSA’s response to the Government’s Health and Social Care NI increase

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK and co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Our initial assessment is that while the Prime Minister’s announcement doesn’t give us everything we wanted and we are worried about the funding, it is definitely worth having and a once in a generation opportunity to improve social care that must not be allowed to slip away.”   

“At last, there’s some hope for a better future and we all stand to gain, since any … Read the rest

2020 Big Social Care Review

Have you needed care since the start of the pandemic? Then we want to hear from you.

We’ve launched the Big Social Care Review to get a picture of what it has been like needing care since the end of March. Did you get the care you needed? If services were stopped – were they reinstated? If you needed help for the first time were you able to get help?

 Take part in the survey here

An easy-read version can … Read the rest

CSA launches its ‘Big Social Care Review’

Today, the Care and Support Alliance, launched its ‘Big Social Care Review’ to find out about the experiences of those needing care during the pandemic.

 Take part in the survey here

An easy-read version can be found here

The survey is open to all those who need care in England and aims to get a picture of what care people have needed since March, what they have received, and what could have made things better. The last time the alliance … Read the rest

Our message to the next Government: #FixSocialCare

The 75 members of the Care and Support Alliance are all united that the next Government must #FixSocialCare and give the country the care they need. After 20 years of promises, it’s now time for action.

Currently at least 1.5m people do not get the care they need, some people have to sell their homes to pay for care and family carers are being pushed to the brink caring for relatives with little or no support.

The alliance agrees on … Read the rest

CSA’s response to the Government’s Spending Review 2019

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK and co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Although the devil is often in the detail when it comes to Government spending announcements, on the face of it the extra money announced for social care in 2020/21 should help to keep our current care system tottering along for another year. It should also hopefully mean that local authorities will not have to cut back their care spending this autumn, as many had … Read the rest

Care & Support Alliance – Social Care Policy Position

The Care & Support Alliance has gone through a process of reviewing and refreshing our overall policy position on social care in consultation with our 75 members.

The aim of this process was to develop a clear policy position ahead of a likely range of autumn activities relevant to funding and reform of the social care system.

To inform this a survey was held to gain insight into the top-line positions of CSA members. We then held a day-long workshop … Read the rest

Want the Government to know what your care means to you? CSA is collecting your stories to share with the new Government.

Today, at least 1.4 million are denied the care they need to help them with their illness or condition (that’s more than the population of Birmingham). But those who get good social care describe it as ‘life support’. 

Social care can be the basic help to get you dressed or help with meals, or it can be the support you need to work or live independently.

The Care and Support Alliance, representing over 75 organisations, is calling on the new … Read the rest