Back in January, I dedicated my first Westminster Hall debate to the subject of the future of care homes in England. At that time their prospects looked precarious, with an even growing funding gap and the effects of the increase in the minimum wage expected to hit from April. At that time, I and other colleagues made the case to the then care minister that the sector urgently needed more money if it was to stave off a crisis.
Sadly since then little action has been taken and the situation continues to deteriorate. The sector did not receive any additional funding in George Osborne’s March budget and has been put under even greater pressure in recent months following the Brexit vote and the uncertainties this has created for the care workforce, a significant proportion of which come from the European Union or further afield.
The introduction of the social care precept for 2016/17, which has allowed councils to increase council tax by an additional two per cent for ring-fenced spending on adult social care, is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the funding gap the sector faces. What is more, it has tended to generate additional revenue for the areas comparatively least in need which already have a greater council tax base to help support these services.
The situation is now very nearly at breaking point, with 51 per cent of care homes already making a loss and predictions this will rise as high as 65 per cent by 2019. It has got to the point where the Care Quality Commission, the government’s own regulator of quality across care services, has made a formal request to ministers for more funding for social care which they have described as reaching a ‘tipping point.’ The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services have estimated the funding gap now stands at a staggering £1bn per year.
It is therefore deeply alarming that the prime minister has been indicating there will be no additional funding for the National Health Service, let alone the care sector, something that must be seen as incredible hypocrisy coming from a cabinet now consisting of several senior ministers who pledged an extra £350m a week to the NHS as one of their main reasons people should vote to join the EU.
No new money for the care sector will put even greater pressure on NHS services. If care homes close, then older and more vulnerable people will inevitably end up spending longer in hospital as they have nowhere to be discharged to which in turn will stretch hospital resources yet further at a time where a number, including those serving my own constituents in Hove and Portslade, are already in financial special measures.
This situation simply cannot continue. In my debate in January, I asked the then minister on the record whether the capacity existed in the department of health and local government to respond to care home closures across the country and he said yes. In the absence of any clear plans, I found that hard to believe then and even less so now, not least given the recent intervention by the CQC. Therefore it is clear what must come out of the chancellor’s autumn statement next month is an urgent allocation of additional resources for the care sector. Additional resources previously pledged for the Better Care Fund for 2019/20 needs to be brought forward so that the sector can benefit from it now and not three years down the line when it could be too late. Alongside this there needs to be a fundamental look at how we properly fund care services going into the future. With an ageing population who are living longer, this is something we have to get right now before it is too late.
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Peter Kyle is member of parliament for Hove and Portslade. He tweets @PeterKyle
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We need a proper socialist MP in Brighton. Peter Kyle is an old-fashioned New Labour loser of the type that lost us the elections in 2010 and 2015. I don’t think there will be much of a local fightback while Peter is in place.
“Alf”- what kind of deluded fool are you? Kyle won Hove from the Tories against the trend in the last General Election. He made Hove the only touch of red in an ocean of blue constituencies covering the whole of the South East of England. Because of The Corbyn Effect, even a soft-left Labour candidate like Kyle will now have to hope that his constituency work-rate and personal charm will let him hold on to his seat next time – much against the bookmakers’ odds. Given any other Labour candidate now in Hove, the Tories will win it back with a landslide majority. Like say Worthing and Eastbourne, Hove is not natural socialist territory.
Since the proposals involves an increase in current expenditure, I cannot grasp whether the author is advocating additional taxation or increased borrowing. It is so easy to be a ‘Motherhood and apple pie’ advocate – but is the author suggesting some reductions in other spending? Looks rather like a pointless contribution serving as nothing beyond self promotion whilst suggesting no solutions – except presumably that, Corbyn is unelectable because he lacks credibility.