Care homes finally getting attention they need

Last week’s social care plan goes a long way to addressing the challenges faced by the sector

The Jewish calendar gives structure to our year. Like many, I spent Rosh Hashanah in shul, albeit with signs that we remained in a pandemic. As each year passes, we become more familiar with the cycle of life and just as we can guarantee a new year every year, it has felt certain that every UK government for decades would make a promise to “fix social care”.

This Rosh Hashanah, the Prime Minister took what some might say is a brave step in announcing one of the most significant taxation changes in our lifetime, with a view to seeing the NHS out of the pandemic and, in his words, to “build back better” on social care.

Our community has been blessed to have some of the finest organisations to care for and support our older members and those who live with disabilities. Along with the whole social care sector, we have long awaited an announcement on plans for the long-term funding of care in the UK. The challenges faced by the sector were acutely exacerbated by the pandemic. The necessity to adequately fund social care with well-supported, fairly paid and dedicated staff was brought into sharp focus for the population with national media attention on care homes and the capacity of care staff looking after vulnerable people.

The plan announced by the Prime Minister last week goes a long way to addressing many of the long-term challenges faced by the sector. The introduction of a 1.25 per cent increase in National Insurance and tax on share dividends in 2022, with a separate tax on earned income, which will be known as a social care levy from 2023, will raise £36billion over three years for frontline services.

Under the new plans, from October 2023 a £86,000 cap on the amount a person will need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime will be introduced. Anyone with assets amounting to less than £20,000 will not have to make any contribution for their care from their savings or the value of their home. Anyone with assets of between £20,000 and £100,000 will be eligible for means-testing and some level of support.

There are still several challenges and complications to be addressed and worked through. At Jewish Care, like many others in the sector and across the country, we eagerly await the detail of these plans in the upcoming White Paper to understand what the impact will be on our organisation and on the wider community. We will ensure that implications are made clear to those looking to use Jewish Care’s services and will remain committed to supporting older and vulnerable people when they need us most.

We do know that we will still need to rely heavily on the generosity of our supporters and the wider community. Many of our vital services, such as our helpline, social work and community centres, do not receive any government funding, and the introduction of this plan will not change that.

It is also important to be clear that the caps introduced are on the cost of care, not on accommodation, food or hospitality, which varies widely between providers. These ‘hotel’ type costs reflect the fact that our community rightly expects care homes to be fit for the 21st century, with up-to-date facilities.

We have always been committed to investing in our workforce in terms of pay and training, and it is welcome that this will be addressed as part of a long-term plan. However, the wider care sector must still deal with the current problems of recruitment and retention of social care staff, which continues to be a challenge.

It is also only right to point out that the increase in tax will have a heavy impact on nursers, social care workers and those providing care, without a commitment from government to increase their pay or conditions. In addition, unpaid family carers, who are often forgotten about and unseen by local authorities, will still be pushed to breaking point.

While we await further details on the practicalities of how the plan will work, this is still the first real commitment we have seen from government in decades to address the funding of health and social care. I hope that by the time we reach Rosh Hashanah next year, we’ll have more certainty about how those plans will make the difference that is needed.

This is the first real commitment we have seen from government in decades