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Social care workforce funding halved for England, government confirms Vulnerable to lose out as care funding held back - council chiefs
(about 1 hour later)
Funding promised to develop the social care workforce in England has been halved, the government has confirmed. Frail and vulnerable people will go without the care they need, council chiefs are warning, after ministers in England set out funding plans for care.
In 2021 the government pledged "at least" £500 million for reforms, to be spent on training places and technology over three years. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) criticised a decision to hold back half of the £500m promised to help plug staff shortages.
But that figure is now £250 million, according to the Department of Health. It said the government's commitment to the system for supporting disabled adults and the elderly was in tatters.
A coalition of charities said this cut is "just the latest in a long series of disappointments" over social care. It came after ministers unveiled £2bn of grants for the next two years.
The government said its reforms would give care "the status it deserves" but some organisations in the sector say they fall short of what is needed. A total of £600m has been held back by the Department of Health and Social Care, however.
Measures outlined in the government's white paper on social care, published in December 2021, include the creation of a new Care Certificate qualification and funding for hundreds of thousands of training places. Some £250m of it came from the £500m originally promised last year to support the workforce through measures such as extra training places.
The document also outlines plans to speed up digitising social care records and make better use of technology such as smart speakers and sensors. About one in 10 posts are vacant with staffing shortages rising by more than 50% in the past year.
The government has said its refreshed plan will bolster the workforce and help free up hospital beds. There are currently more than 500,000 people waiting for care.
But the money allocated to the reforms is now just half of what was put forward in 2021. Adass president Sarah McClinton said: "This plan leaves the government's vision in tatters. It ducks the hard decision and kicks the can down the road until after the next election.
The white paper also promised to invest at least £150 million in digitisation across the sector, but the Department of Health and Social Care said the figure is now £100 million as £50 million has already been spent. "Adult social care is in crisis. Now's not the time to be holding funding back.
There has also been no mention of the previously announced £25 million to support unpaid carers or the £300 million mentioned in the white paper to integrate housing into local health and care strategies. "Many more people won't get the quality care and support they need, forcing more family and friends to step in where they can, more people deteriorating and being admitted to hospital and further damage to the NHS and economy."
Social care minister Helen Whately said the package announced on Tuesday "focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves". How many people work in adult social care in England?
She said the reforms focused on the "better use of technology, the power of data and digital care records, and extra funding for councils - aiming to make a care system we can be proud of". In 2022 there were 1.5 million people working in adult social care
The Department for Health and Social Care insists that all the promised money will stay within social care and that it has yet to allocate the full budget. About 400,000 people left their jobs, which is more than a quarter of the workforce
But the King's Fund health think tank said the measures were "a dim shadow of the widescale reform to adult social care that this government came into office promising". There were 165,000 vacancies, a 52% increase on the previous year and the highest on record
Caroline Abrahams, co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance - which represents more than 70 charities - and charity director of Age UK, said the measures "aren't remotely enough to transform social care". Care workers were paid an average hourly rate of £9.66 in the independent sector and £11.03 in the public sector
Source: Skills for Care
The funding, which was first announced last year, includes money for digital social care records, home adaptations and for councils to pay for care places - most care is provided by private and voluntary sector organisations.
But the £2bn of investment is just a fraction of what is normally spent on social care.
Grants from the Department of Health and Social Care represent just one funding stream councils rely on alongside others such as other central government grants, council tax and business rates.
In the past year more than £20bn was spent on care services.
Over the past 10 years councils have had to reduce the amount they spend on social care once inflation and the rising demand from the ageing population is taken into account, according to the Health Foundation, because of the squeeze on their overall funding.
Caroline Abrahams, co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance - which represents more than 70 charities - and charity director of Age UK, said the measures announced "aren't remotely enough to transform social care".
Millions of older and disabled people and their carers "needed something far bigger, bolder and more genuinely strategic to give them hope for the future", she said.Millions of older and disabled people and their carers "needed something far bigger, bolder and more genuinely strategic to give them hope for the future", she said.
She continued: "With quite a chunk of the money originally promised for care now no longer available, our CSA members are telling us this is just the latest in a long series of disappointments so far as recent government performance on social care is concerned." She continued: "With quite a chunk of the money originally promised for care now no longer available, our members are telling us this is just the latest in a long series of disappointments so far as recent government performance on social care is concerned."
A report from Care England and the HfT care provider in March warned that adult social care was "on the precipice" when it came to costs. The government said the £600m being held back would still be invested in social care, but it was now assessing where best to invest it in the system.
The low level of pay for care staff was considered the biggest barrier to recruitment and retention, the report said. But health minister Helen Whately said the investment would make a difference.
Are you struggling to find a care home place? Are you a care worker? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. "This package of reforms focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves, while also focusing on the better use of technology, the power of data and digital care records, and extra funding for councils - aiming to make a care system we can be proud of," she said.
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