The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care has responded to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget delivered in the House of Commons this afternoon shortly after the detail was accidently published online by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The main measures in the Budget impacting social care include:
- National Living Wage for over-21s to rise 4.1% in April 2026, from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour (last year was 6.7%)
- The NLW rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will rise by 8.5%, from £10 to £10.85 per hour
- Employer National Insurance contributions secondary threshold is being held at £5,000 until 2031
Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF commented: “Far from acknowledging a sector where, as reported by ADASS in its Autumn Survey, pressures are intensifying, the Chancellor’s second Budget seems to overlook the financial support desperately needed by care and support providers. Social care is a public service and much of it is commissioned by the state yet unlike last year where the Chancellor announced dedicated funding to be made available in the Local Government Finance Settlement to cover both wage and structural changes for adult social care, this year she was silent.
“We know that social care needs to change – so how does this budget move forward social care?
“Getting apprenticeships right for social care would be a significant step change to bridge the gap in UK national workforce. The devil is in the detail, but an initiative that created free training for social care apprentices for SMEs would support a core part of the sector under pressure and strengthen local delivery. However, there was no explicit reference to the vital need for a social care workforce strategy. This is particularly important as the Home Office’s plans to introduce more stringent settlement conditions for migrant care workers already in the UK is likely to drive many away at a time when recruitment of domestic workers continues to fall.
“This budget has strengthened the national agenda to grow health tech, whilst ignoring the reality that millions of people receive social care behind closed doors, in their own homes -where flexible responsive data driven technological solutions can augment and support the care that people need. Upgrading the focus on innovation and technology in social care is not a ‘nice to have’ it is an essential plank in addressing the changing needs and demography that must drive forward change.
“It appears that the government continues to step back from the difficult decisions about social care – leaving Baroness Casey to speak truth to power. However, if the truth is that the cupboard is bare – then a budget which neither recognises the contribution or the real cost of adult social care will feel like a missed opportunity – one that we will all be paying for long into the future.”
