The Independent Care Group has thrown its weight behind a national campaign urging the Government to rethink budget measures they fear will cause services to collapse.
The ICG has signed up to the Providers Unite campaign, which is launched today (12 November).
Representing hundreds of social care providers across the country, Providers Unite is a grassroots campaign which centres on an impassioned plea to the Chancellor to look at the impact the increase in employer’s National Insurance and in living and minimum wages would have on social care.
It warns of a “systematic collapse of community care services across Britain” if the measures go ahead.
ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “Today is a pivotal day for adult social care and it is vital that we get the message across that these budget-driven increases could have devastating consequences for the safe delivery of care for hundreds of thousands of older, vulnerable and disabled people.
“The Government has to act – either by reversing the National Insurance increase for our sector or by ring-fencing additional funding to help providers meet the increase and the wages rise next spring.
“Otherwise, the result doesn’t bear thinking about for social care in this country.”
The Providers Unite letter to the Chancellor calls upon her to recognise social care as an “indispensable pillar in Britain’s healthcare infrastructure”, providing care to 1.2m people and employing almost 1.6m.
It warns of the profound impact of the proposed tax increases on people who rely on social care providers, who, like GPs, pharmacies and hospices, are independent businesses providing public care.
The letter, signed by dozens of care provider bodies, says providers could face a cost increase of up to 12% due to the National Insurance and wage increases.
Calling on the Chancellor to review the increases for social care providers, the letter adds that the sector is facing an £8.4bn funding shortfall.
This week, Mr Padgham also urged people to sign a petition to get the budget changes debated in Parliament. At the moment the petition has around 16,000 signatures. Having reached 10,000 it will elicit a response from the Government, but campaigners want to get to 100,000 signatures, which could trigger a debate.
Mr Padgham added: “For care providers, this could well be about survival and for the workforce it is about their jobs and their pay, so it is vital that we get up to 100,000 signatures.”
In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor increased employer’s National Insurance, lowered the threshold at which NI is paid and also confirmed that the National Living Wage will go up to £12.21 an hour and the National Minimum Wage, for those aged 18 to 20, up to £10 an hour next spring.
The link to the petition is: