Funding and wages words welcome, but urgent action required to avoid perfect storm ahead, says membership body.
Following the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group – a membership body for organisations working with disabled people – have responded, welcoming funding and wages increase, and outlining next steps.
Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive, VODG, said:
“We welcome the increase in funding to the social care sector, as well as increasing the national minimum wage. The Chancellor stated that he would protect the most vulnerable – the reality is that people are left vulnerable when they do not receive the right support. Millions of disabled people draw on social care each day to enable independent and fulfilling lives. Yet widespread problems in recruitment and retention, spiralling costs, and decreased funding are creating a perfect storm, where an increasing amount of disability support services are simply no longer viable, and care and support needs and services are at risk of being left behind.
“There are three clear steps that the Government need to take to translate The Chancellor’s announcements into outcomes for disabled people:
“First, the Government should now draw up plans to link social care pay to NHS pay bands. A sector that is inherently low-paid will always be firefighting when it comes to recruitment and retention, leading to higher long-term costs. VODG has long called for improved recognition and reward for the social care workforce to address this. The uplift in the National Living Wage will provide a welcome boost to care staff, but the sector needs long-term solutions to improve staffing. Apart from the human cost, a sector that sees over one quarter of its staff either on the brink of, or already living in poverty, will never be able to sufficiently recruit or retain the staff needed.
“Second, the Government must sufficiently resource the forthcoming Local Government Finance Settlement to deliver adult social care for all. Increased wages need increased funding, and VODG are concerned about the absence of additional funding to enable local authority and health commissioners to secure local services at rates that meet these rising costs. VODG is already seeing a widening gap as workforce commissioning moves further and further out of step with social care pay, leaving charities to bridge the funding gap or hand back services.
“Third, social care needs a robust, holistic and fully-resourced plan to meet the increasing demand for essential care, given the wider economic challenges this country faces. Providing a booster payment to help disability support services survive the recession, ensuring funding to release hospital beds for older people also reaches disabled people, and understanding the impact of issues such as inflation on service provision, are just some of the points a strategic plan for social care should cover.
“The next couple of years will be make or break for many disability support services, and the millions of people they support across the country. We invite the Government to work with us to ensure that any Government plans are both effective and fair during these increasingly challenging financial times.”