Chancellor – Don’t ignore social care in the Budget

Dear Chancellor,

As Co-Chairs of the Care and Support Alliance, on behalf of our members, we are writing to you ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget to raise our concerns about the levels of funding available for the delivery of adult social care in England.

The Care and Support Alliance (CSA), a coalition of over sixty of England’s leading charities, campaigns alongside the millions of older people, disabled people, and their unpaid carers who rely on adult social care. 

 

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CSA warns Rishi Sunak not to backtrack on social care promise four years on

 

On 24th July 2019, the new Conservative Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, stood on the steps of Downing Street and pledged to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all”.

In his first speech as Prime Minister, his successor Rishi Sunak emphasized that the “mandate his party earned in 2019” under the leadership of Boris Johnson was also his mandate and vowed to “deliver on its [manifesto] promise.”

We are concerned that four years later, social care reform has … Read the rest

Happy Birthday NHS! CSA calls on political leaders to give the NHS the gift of a functioning social care system

5th July 2023 is the NHS’ 75th birthday. We can’t imagine life without it – but unfortunately, our NHS is facing increasing pressure from the catastrophic issues facing social care. 

“A crucial part of the ongoing health of the NHS is having a social care system that ensures people get the care they need to stay healthy and independent for as long as possible.”

1 in every 10 social care posts are vacant. This means more and more Read the rest

Capping care costs: Telegraph letter from CSA Chair (24 July 2015)

Capping care costs

SIR – Last week, the Government announced plans to delay the implementation of a cap on care costs in England until 2020.

This was the right thing to do; continuing with the care cap would have been a costly diversion of energy and resources at a critical time.

The top priority must be to prevent the social care system – which millions of people depend on – from collapsing. These people need reassurance that, in acknowledging the … Read the rest

The Budget: more money for health, but offers nothing to a social care system in crisis (8 July 2015)

The Government has today reaffirmed its commitment to NHS England’s Five Year Forward view, committing the additional £8 billion a year of NHS funding pledged during the Conservative election campaign. Despite recognition from the Health Secretary that effective social care support relieves pressure on the health service, and growing evidence that budget cuts to the first negatively impact the second, the chronic underfunding of adult social care has not been addressed at all in this Budget.

The lack of mention … Read the rest

CSA response to Better Care Fund announcement (30 October 2014)

Today (30 October), the Department of Communities and Local Government, and the Department of Health, approved local plans for Better Care Fund (BCF) spending and announced further money for the scheme following increased investment from local authorities.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/better-care-plans-to-help-elderly-and-reduce-hospital-visits#

The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, wrote in the Telegraph yesterday that the £5.3 billion – an increase from the initial £3.8bn – will be invested in 151 plans across the country to help keep elderly people healthy at … Read the rest

CSA members respond to Government’s proposed eligibility criteria for social care (06 June 2014)

The Government has today published its proposals for who will and who won’t get social care from 2015 under the new Care Act, with new national criteria for social care eligibility.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/care-act-2014-launch-of-care-and-support-consultation

CSA members have been responding to the announcement.

Sense: Threshold for social care “far too high”

National deafblind charity Sense today (06 June) warned that many older and disabled people will miss out on services they desperately need, following the Government’s publication of a consultation on who is … Read the rest