Call to Govt for adequate funding of social care

Barnet’s Labour councillors have launched a new petition calling on the Government to bring forward long overdue proposals to adequately fund adults’ social care which would ensure that all care workers in the Capital are paid at least the London Living Wage of £10.85 per hour – the minimum income standard for London.

Another report highlighting the under-resourcing of adults’ social care has just been published (29 January). ‘Let’s do this – the promise of fixing social care’ from Health for Care, a coalition of 15 national health organisations, calls for the long-awaited Government legislation to solve the social care crisis. It sets out that 1.4 million older people are estimated to have unmet needs, but social care spending has fallen by 12 per cent per person since 2010/11.

In the report, the Senior Policy Advisor at Macmillan Cancer Support on behalf of National Voices says:

“Funding is part of the puzzle, but this cannot be separated from the key ‘resource’ in social care: staff. People working on the frontline in social care have had a traumatic and exhausting time and need to be rewarded for their skill and compassion.

“The average care worker is still paid less than a cleaner and someone who has worked in the sector for five years receives only 12p per hour more than someone starting out. Until this changes there will simply not be enough staff to provide good quality care.”

Barnet has 66 residential care homes, and 19 nursing care homes but most don’t pay their care staff the London Living Wage as a minimum.

The London Living Wage is the minimum needed to cover the basics of living in the Capital and is calculated each year by the independent Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission.

Barnet Labour’s Adults’ & Safeguarding spokesperson, Cllr Paul Edwards said: “It’s a scandal that the staff caring for our elderly and disabled residents, and putting themselves at increased risk of contracting Covid, are not paid enough to afford the basics to live in London.

“The Government must urgently bring forward the promised proposals to adequately fund adults’ social care which would guarantee sufficient funding in the sector to pay care workers in the Capital the London Living Wage.”

Ends.

Notes:

1. A link to the petition can be found here: https://www.barnetlabour.org.uk/2021/02/05/fully-fund-adults-social-care-pay-all-care-workers-at-least-the-real-living-wage-londons-living-wage/
2. For more details of the Health for Care report see:
   https://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/2021/01/the-promise-of-fixing-social-care
   https://www.localgov.co.uk/Pandemic-has-exposed-how-fragile-social-care-system-is-report-warns/51773?actId=ebwp0YMB8s3Mv0I20l85odUcvuQDVN7aZHxMk8Rn99Q4BkMY34tNsR-ceFNz3BG8&actCampaignType=CAMPAIGN_MAIL&actSource=500726
3. For details of LLW:
   https://www.livingwage.org.uk/calculation
   https://www.livingwage.org.uk/news/real-living-wage-care-workers