Care England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent adult social care providers, has criticised the Government’s latest Spending Review for failing to deliver urgently needed funding for adult social care. The representative body says the measures offer “the illusion of support” while placing more pressure on a system already in crisis.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:
“This Spending Review gives the illusion of support without delivering the substance. Much of the funding is conditional, dependent on councils raising council tax to its limit – something many will avoid for political reasons – and channelled through NHS-led schemes like the Better Care Fund, a mechanism focused on the NHS and hospital discharge, not the broader care system that underpins it. The result is a system still starved of the funding it needs to function.
There is no separate funding to deliver the Fair Pay Agreement. No ringfenced money to implement the Employment Rights Bill. And no support for the increased domestic recruitment costs triggered by the closure of the care visa route. Pushing these changes without addressing the financial reality undermines their credibility and effectiveness.
We’re being asked to run faster on empty. This is not just a funding gap — it’s a credibility gap. If the Government wants to be serious about valuing care, then it must show it in the only language that matters investment.”
Care England is calling for three immediate commitments from Government:
- Urgent funding injection to close the current underfunding gap in social care services and prevent further deterioration in support for those who rely on care.
- A dedicated and separate funding package to deliver the Fair Pay Agreement – essential for implementing improved pay, terms and conditions for care workers, without which no agreed wage deal can be realised.
- A ringfenced, multi-year funding settlement for the social care sector to invest in its future, grow workforce and service capacity, and meet rising demand sustainably – including the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill.
Professor Martin Green OBE concluded:
“We can’t build a better future for social care with promises. We need the foundations first — and that starts with funding that is immediate, protected, and fair.”
