Norfolk disability rights activist says many feel 'abandoned' by social care services
In a new report, workforce pressures were cited as the top cost-pressure by nine in 10 social care providers
A disability rights activist from Norfolk is telling us that many of those relying on social care feel abandoned and forgotten - due to prior spending cuts and long waits for support.
A report from two charities has concluded that reform to the sector is needed quickly - due to on-going workforce issue and rising costs, brought on from the Autumn budget.
"Social care is in a dire situation"
Mark Harrison lives in Norwich is part of 'Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance':
"Social care is in a dire situation, so to have a review which kicks the can down the road when everyone knows what needs to be done is nonsense and irresponsible because people will continue to die."
He has this message for Sir Keir Starmer: "The Prime Minister needs to look at what the last Labour Government did.
"It began to reform the Social Care sector and create a service that was based on independent living principles and empowering people people to live independently in their own homes."
The report in more detail:
An annual survey of organisations caring for some 128,000 people in England found providers feeling forced to close parts of their organisations, handing back contracts to local authorities and considering leaving the market entirely.
Workforce pressures were cited as the top cost-pressure by nine in 10 providers, of which the national living wage increase, to come in from April, was said to be the biggest challenge.
But the pressures will since have ramped up, the report authors, learning disability charity Hft and Care England, said, as the survey of 206 small, medium and large social care providers took place before further challenges emerged from the October Budget, notably the planned increase in the rate of employers' national insurance contributions (NICs).
Hft and Care England have now repeated calls for the Government to either fully fund the increase or exempt care providers entirely, saying delays are pushing more care providers out of the sector and leaving more people "without the support they need".
Their report referred to previous analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank which said the NICs hike could cost the adult social care sector more than £900 million this year, "more than wiping out the extra funds allocated to social care at the recent Budget".
While Hft and Care England both said they are willing to work with the independent commission into reform of social care, led by Baroness Louise Casey, they echoed others who have called for a plan by the end of this year, rather than a final report in 2028.
Last week Sir Andrew Dilnot, who produced recommendations for reform more than a decade ago, said it is "completely unnecessary" to wait three years and that it is "perfectly feasible" for the Government to set out by the end of 2025 what it is going to do.
"The status quo is no longer an option"
Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green said: "We are ready to work alongside Baroness Casey and the Government to turn this commission into a catalyst for genuine change.
"But let's be clear: the status quo is no longer an option. Every delay, every failure to act, pushes more care providers out of the sector and leaves more people without the support they need."
He said providers are facing "impossible choices: absorbing unsustainable costs, changing their care models, cutting back on services, or shutting their doors entirely".
He warned that unless there is "immediate intervention, the consequences will be devastating for those who rely on care every single day".
What has the Government said on this?
The Government says it's spending £711 million this year to allow nearly 8,000 elderly and disabled people receive social care support on their own homes.
The Department of Health and Social Care say the longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care will be drawn up by 2028.
There's more on the Government's latest announcement on Social Care here.