The Independent Care Group has reacted angrily to a “meaningless” Government response to a petition calling for the sector to be exempt from the increase in National Insurance many fear will damage care.
The petition has so far reached 31,000 signatures and when it passed 10,000 it required a Government response.
In that response, the Government says help in meeting the extra National Insurance costs will only go to public sector organisations.
It says extra funding has been made available to local authorities to support social care and that further reform of the sector “will not happen overnight”.
The care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG) has reacted angrily to the Government’s response.
ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “This response is to a great extent meaningless and not very helpful and should serve as an incentive to the sector to get the petition past 100,000 signatures and to press for a full debate on the issue. I would urge all providers to sign the petition straight away and send the message to the Government that we are not happy with the situation.
“Limiting Government support to public sector organisations blatantly ignores the fact that the bulk of adult social care is delivered by independent providers delivering publicly-funded care to older, vulnerable and disabled people. If social care is not made exempt from the ENIC increase or better funding made available, there will be more provider closures and less and less care delivered – adding to the 2m who currently can’t get the care they need.
“The response refers to the total budget the Government is making available to local authorities but only some £600m extra has been allocated for social care – that won’t go anywhere near meeting the extra £2.8bn increase in costs the social care sector is facing due to the National Insurance increase and rises in the National Living and National Minimum wages.
“As to the reference to change not happening overnight, that almost beggars belief. We have been waiting more than 30 years for reform to social care, seeing government after government kick the issue down the road time and time again. This Government seems intent on doing the same, avoiding facing up to reforming social care.”
The ICG has called for a concerted effort to get the petition over 100,000 to persuade the Government to debate the issue.
It has also called on the Government to wake up to the vital role social care plays and how vital it is to future NHS reforms.
Mr Padgham added: “The Prime Minister has today made cutting NHS waiting lists one of his milestones on which to judge the Government.
“But he does so without mentioning reform of social care, which surely goes hand in hand with any improvements to the NHS. The Government cannot achieve one without the other.
“Central to the Government’s plans for the NHS is moving from hospital to community, but they aren’t going to achieve that unless they get social care fit for purpose – not least so that they can discharge the thousands currently in hospital fit enough to be discharged but without care packages to enable it.”
People can sign the National Insurance petition here: