Rachael Dodgson, Chief Executive of Dimensions, has shared her concerns about the impact of the Autumn Budget on the sector in this article from LocalGov.
Rachael highlights the significant financial burden imposed by the rise in National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage increase; Dimensions alone faces an additional £15.1 million in costs in the first year.
The budget’s impact is not limited to Dimensions, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimating an average cost of £800 per employee for these tax measures across the entire social care sector. This significantly outweighs the £600 million allocated in the Local Government Settlement, which is likely to be split between children’s and adult social care, further exacerbating existing financial pressures.
The Care Quality Commission’s recent report highlights the sector’s dire state, with workforce shortages, growing inequalities in care provision, and poor outcomes for autistic people and those with learning disabilities; the budget fails to address these challenges and instead exacerbates them.
Rachael expresses disappointment that the budget contradicts the Department of Health and Social Care’s post-election rhetoric about shifting towards prevention and fixing social care and believes this is indicative of a broader pattern of chronic underfunding of the sector, which has led to this unsustainable situation.
The consequences for those receiving support are severe. Without adequate funding to attract and retain skilled staff, the provision of consistent, long-term support, which is vital for those with learning disabilities and autism, will be impossible to sustain.
Rachael is calling for a united front from commissioners and providers to push for change, emphasising the need to address the sector’s financial crisis to ensure a better life for those relying on social care.
Writing to your MP is easy, and can help show them what issues are important to the people in their area. You can contact your MP in a few steps: You can write your own message, or use our suggested text below: Copy and paste the text below into the message box, add the right information in the [square brackets] and delete anything that isn’t relevant to you. Subject heading: The alarming effects of the NIC increases on not-for-profit providers of adult social care Dear [insert MP name] As a not-for-profit provider of essential statutory services for working-age disabled adults, we are concerned about the impact of employers’ National Insurance Contribution (NIC) increases. Many people we support with a learning disability, severe autism and complex needs could see their packages of support reduced or removed. This will affect their rights of choice and control and their ability to live ordinary lives as citizens. We have calculated that the 1.2% increase and the lowering of the threshold will cost Dimensions £5.9 million in the first full year of implementation. And the NLW increase will add a further £10.2m. Of course, we welcome our front-line colleagues having more money in their pockets. But with only £600 million promised to adult and children’s social care in the Autumn budget, we’re worried this will not cover these additional costs. As a non-profit organisation delivering statutory support, approximately 93% of our workforce is involved in frontline care and support. We maintain a tiny reserve to assure the CQC Market Oversight scheme that we are sustainable. We welcome the government’s commitment to increasing low pay and understand the need to raise taxes to support investment in our public services. However, as a partner to local government in delivering the statutory services and outcomes legislated in the Care Act 2014, we believe we should be protected from these measures like our NHS partners. I have attached a briefing which outlines the cost implications for six large not-for-profit providers and strategies to protect specialist social care providers. Could you raise these questions in the House: I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, [Insert your name]How to write to your MP
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