Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has warned that social care services “face collapse” across the country after the government’s ‘mini-budget’ scrapped the so-called NHS and social care levy (N.I increase).
The plan was in the first instance the extra cash would go to the NHS and then after that go to social care. Councillor Sykes predicted at the time not a penny would reach social care and would all be absorbed by the NHS. He has been proved right and now neither the NHS nor social care will see a penny of it.
Councillor Sykes said, “The government was already underfunding social care and expecting councils to foot the bill. The Chancellor’s mini budget has just added £13 billion to the shortfall. Social care urgently needs funding and instead, the government has just hammered funding and passed responsibility onto councils and council taxpayers.”
The cut comes at a time when 600 people each day are joining the list of people waiting to be assessed for care and support in England. A survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) suggests that almost 300,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs by social workers, an increase of 90,000 (44%) in five months.
Councillor Sykes said, “Social care is in crisis and the government is choosing to leave cash-strapped council taxpayers to plug the gap.”
ADASS Survey