The Homecare Association has warned that government efforts to shift care from hospitals into the community will falter unless it provides councils with the funding to make that shift real and backs the care workforce delivering it.
Responding to the ADASS Spring Survey published today, the Association stressed that people who draw on care and support are already feeling the effects of overstretched local budgets. Some councils are reducing or cutting care services; some are cutting fee rates, forcing providers to hand back work, which affects continuity of care; and some are encouraging a shift to unregulated homecare because it is cheaper, leaving older and disabled people with no protection or recourse if something goes wrong. Preventative support and care, which helps people to live well at home, is being sacrificed to pay for those with complex care needs.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, CEO of the Homecare Association, said:
“Homecare transforms lives. It helps people stay well, connected and independent in their own homes, close to their loved ones, and part of their communities. However, it’s being systematically undervalued.
Directors of Adult Social Care are clear: without proper funding, they cannot pay providers fairly, meet rising demand, or invest in prevention. This results in people waiting too long for care, going without care, or being admitted to hospital unnecessarily.”
Throughout the Inquiry, the Homecare Association has worked tirelessly to ensure Baroness Hallett heard the voices of homecare providers and care workers loud and clear. From submitting detailed written evidence to giving oral testimony, we have consistently highlighted how the homecare sector was overlooked, underfunded, and deprioritised – despite being a vital public service.
You can read more about our contribution to Module 6, including Jane’s oral evidence, The Homecare Association witness statement, opening statement and closing remarks,?here.
To mark the conclusion of hearings, The Homecare Assocation are releasing a?song with accompanying video lyrics?to honour the extraordinary dedication of the 740,000 professional homecare workers in England who continued to deliver essential care despite significant personal risk, often lacking adequate PPE, testing, or recognition as essential workers. It is a small gesture of thanks to those who kept going when it mattered most.
Keeping your home warm in the winter can be expensive so benefits like the Winter Fuel Payment can make all the difference.
The fuel poverty charity NEA estimates that around 4 million UK households are unable to afford sufficient heating, and in January 2023 it reported there were around 4000 excess deaths during the winter months.
If you are an older person and receive certain benefits, you may be eligible for financial support with your heating bills.
What is the Winter Fuel Payment?
Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free lump payment to help you to heat your home in the winter.
The benefit was introduced in 1997 for older people who feel the cold more, are less active and stay indoors more.
How much is the Winter Fuel Payment?
The payment is either £200 or £300, depending on your date of birth and whether or not you live alone.
If you or your partner were born before 23 September 1944, it should be £300.
Payments are usually made in November and December.
The Homecare Association has today condemned the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review and its political choices, as ministers prioritise billions on bombs and NHS expansion over the preventative care and support needed by millions of older and disabled people in our communities.
With no significant new funding to reform adult social care, no plan to address exploitative local authority commissioning, and no serious money to implement the Fair Pay Agreement, we are concerned the government is failing to recognise care as a vital part of our social infrastructure.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said:
“This Government is spending billions on bombs whilst neglecting older and disabled people in our communities. Caring for each other is a fundamental human need. Many UK citizens have a keen sense of fairness, kindness, and community. They have family and friends who need help and are struggling. Many will see this as a grotesque failure of moral and fiscal leadership.”
On the £29 billion additional investment for the NHS, Dr Jane Townson OBE said:
“We appreciate the importance of the NHS but it does not exist in isolation. If older and disabled people cannot access homecare, they end up in hospital or come to harm at home. Ambulance queues, rising A&E admissions, corridor care, long waiting lists for treatment – these are all symptoms of a government that refuses to fund our sector adequately. No amount of money directed to the NHS is going to fix this.”
