The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care has responded to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. Despite the government’s intention not to portray it as a major fiscal event, it has been delivered against a backdrop of intense media speculation.
Measures in the statement includes: • £4.8bn worth of cuts to welfare benefits, including the measures announced last week as well as an additional measure: the health element of universal credit will be cut for new claimants by 50% and then frozen. • Investment in social and affordable homes – As announced on 25 March 2025, the government is investing £2bn in social and affordable housing in 2026-2027.
• Transformation Fund – The government is confirming the creation of a £3.25bn Transformation Fund to support the reform of public services (including job redundancies), and greater use of digital technology and AI. • Departmental Administrative Budget Reductions – Government departments will reduce their administrative budgets by 15% by the end of the decade.
Liz Jones, Policy Director at NCF commented: “Since taking office following the General Election result last summer, the government has reiterated its messages around cost savings, balancing budgets and making difficult decisions. We have since seen the “catastrophic impacts” of the increases to Employer National Insurance costs passed by the government this week despite the best efforts of the House of Lords which Nuffield Trust describe as social care having “once again been hung out to dry”. All this combined means that we arrive at the Spring Statement with trepidation.
“It is clear that the statement today, on top of the welfare reform announcements last week will create far reaching impacts on the millions of people who rely on care and support services every day to live good lives, many of whom are supported by our not-for-profit members. There is nothing in this statement for the many organisations across the adult care and support sector working hard every day to provide care and support services to help people live fulfilled lives.
“The statement included confirmation of the changes to the welfare system that will see cuts to peoples’ benefits of nearly £5bn in a bid to get more people with learning and physical disabilities into work. By taking this action the government does not seem to have understood that it is not only people who rely on PIP, Work Capability Assessments and Universal Credit to live their lives that are affected by these cuts; people may be surprised to know this will also impact the people who support them.
“The government’s own Impact Assessment on these benefit reforms lays bare how hard these changes are going to hit people who rely on receiving PIP and Universal Credit to live their daily lives. Many people use their PIP to help pay for adult social care support and social care charges from their local authorities. The measures also threaten people’s right to claim Carer’s Allowance due to higher eligibility for PIP. Cutting social security support risks driving people into poverty whereas investing in social care supports people to stay in work and helps those who are further from the labour market to get into work.
“If the Chancellor is serious about growth, then it is mystifying as to why there is a failure across government to recognise the benefits that social care brings to the economy and people’s lives. Social care employs 1.6 million people and contributes £68.1 billion annually into the English economy and has the power to combat socio-economic and health inequalities in every part of the country. As we approach the launch of the Casey Commission and the Spending Review, the government should commit to investing in social care and support – a crucial piece of the nation’s infrastructure which is absolutely essential to the government’s aim to improve population health and wellbeing, support people into work, and to shift the focus of effort and resource from sickness to prevention.”
