Time for a fair deal for social care

Holly Dagnall, Director of Homes and Wellbeing

We’ve recently signed up to The Future Social Care Coalition. A cross-party, cross-sector group of politicians, employer groups and unions, we are calling on the government to bring about seismic change and transformation of the social care sector.

We believe that the 1.6 million social care workers in this country are the ‘forgotten frontline’. They are worth far more than their current pay levels suggest. And we want this to change.

At NCHA, we’ve been providing essential social care services for vulnerable people across the East Midlands for over 25 years.

It’s never been more important and more challenging to do so.

Over the last 12 years we’ve seen the cost of providing these services increase at a rate that has not been matched by the funding provided to us by local authorities. 

85% of our costs are direct employee costs. Our workforce is full of exceptional talent. They are definitely not ‘low skilled’. However the financial rewards we are able to offer in pay, terms and conditions is constantly under pressure from the low value social care contracts offered, to support the most financially and socially disadvantaged of our communities.

We know that local authorities are limited by the available funding from central government for adult social care. The failure of consecutive governments for so many years to adequately fund our national social care system, is leaving the most vulnerable in society without services, and leading to ever poorer pay and terms of conditions for our exceptional workforce.

This is not right.

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we must better value those providing essential services. It’s time for government to radically overhaul social care funding in England and for social care providers to step up and demand change.

That’s why we have joined the Future Social Care Coalition.

That’s why we urge you to attend the Social Care Summer Summit: Get Social Care Done this Thursday.

That’s why we urge you to demand change.

It’s time for a fair deal.