Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, has responded to yesterday’s Budget with a call for urgent clarity and additional support to ensure the Fair Pay Agreement delivers on its promise to uplift the social care workforce.
Professor Martin Green OBE said:
“Yesterday’s Budget leaves social care facing significant headwinds. Extending the freeze on Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds for three more years means care workers will keep less of any future pay rise. It reduces the real value of the Fair Pay Agreement before negotiations have even begun. If the Government wants the FPA to succeed, it must ensure the funding reflects the realities created by its own tax decisions.
We welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to consult on support or deferral of the new Council Tax measures, but care homes must be explicitly included in that process. Providers are already absorbing rising wages, higher operational costs and increasing complexity of care, all at a time when councils are in severe financial difficulty. Added taxation risks destabilising services that are already stretched to breaking point.
There are, however, important positives. The decision to fully fund apprenticeships for SMEs has real potential to bring more young people into the care workforce, and removing the two-child limit will offer meaningful support to many low-paid families working in social care. These are steps in the right direction.
But the wider message remains clear. If the Government is serious about growth, it must recognise that social care is fundamental to the economy. The NHS cannot deliver its ten-year plan without a stable and well-funded social care system alongside it. The Government’s own analysis shows that investment in adult social care strengthens local economies, boosts employment and increases productivity. Social care is not peripheral; it is central to achieving the country’s ambitions.
The task ahead for Casey and the Fair Pay Agreement negotiations has now become even more challenging. Without timely and adequate investment, the ambitions of the FPA risk being undermined before they start, not through lack of vision, but as a direct consequence of decisions made in this Budget.”
Image depicts the Care England logo.