Following the Autumn Budget, at HCPA, we had hoped that the new government would begin to address the longstanding issues within the health and social care sector. However, despite Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting’s assertion that the NHS cannot be fixed without first tackling the problems facing social care, the budget failed to instil confidence in the future of our sector.
The budget included a £1.3bn increase in Local Authority (LA) funding, with at least £600m earmarked for social care. While this figure has yet to be officially confirmed, it is expected that the £600m will be divided between both adult and children’s social care, potentially reducing the impact on adult social care providers. While this represents a small step forward, the £600m allocated to social care is likely to be insufficient to address the sector’s mounting challenges.
Although less than half of the increase in LA funding has been designated for social care, this still accounts for approximately 61% of overall LA spending, with social care expenditure forecasted to reach £38.6bn in the 2024/2025 financial year. The £600m set aside for social care would make up just 1.5% of this total. Furthermore, with the Local Government Association estimating an additional £3.4bn in pressures on social care, the extra funding is unlikely to provide sufficient financial support to providers and local authorities, even before considering the other measures outlined in the budget.
There is a full article on the subject, from our Strategic Partners HCR Law (formerly Ridouts) that can be read here.
At HCPA, we fully understand and appreciate the impact this, the N.I. and minimum wage issues will have on our members, and the already tight staffing challenges that the sector faces. We are committed to bringing our members up to date information as and when it is made available to us, and in our role as Hertfordshire’s Care Association we will always be involved in fair fees for care, carrying out a fair cost of care exercise and communicating our member’s concerns annually with Hertfordshire County Council, which we have completed for this year, accompanied by members, and announcements will be made in the new year. We are also developing a support toolkit for 2025, that members will be able to access to help them fully ascertain the impact these financial changes may have on their business in 2025 / 26.