Don’t Betray the Millions Who Can’t Get Care-Says Care Group
CARE providers are pleading with the Government not to betray millions of people who can’t get the care they need by going back on a spending promise.
The Government is said to be reconsidering its plan to increase National insurance by 1.25 to boost spending on the NHS and social care.
But the care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG), said robbing care of that money would be yet another betrayal of 1.5m people who can’t get the care they need.
Chair Mike Padgham said: “To promise extra funding for social care and then steal it away would be a cruel betrayal of those who can’t get care and those battling to provide that care in the worst crisis the sector has ever known.
“We have always said that National Insurance is not the best vehicle to raise the funds needed but if the Government decides not to proceed then it must find an alternative – either via income tax, which shares the burden more fairly, or via borrowing or using up surplus funds.
“For a generation now, government after government has promised to reform social care and none has delivered.
“We cannot allow the Government to go so far down the line and then brutally take it away by delaying things once again.”
The Government had said that by increasing National Insurance by 1.25% from April it will raise £36bn for the NHS and social care over the coming three years.
Mr Padgham added: “That money is vital – we know that much of it will be swallowed by the NHS to deal with the backlog, and that is hard enough. But if support for social care is delayed yet further it would be a national scandal.
“We know there are at least 1.5m people who can’t get the care they need and that Covid-19, low occupancy and the staffing crisis have combined to leave social care on its knees.
“The sector couldn’t handle another betrayal of this kind. Social care needs reform and it cannot wait a moment longer.”