Professional Comment

Political Progress in 2025

By Jo Henney, CEO at Nugent (www.wearenugent.org)

At Nugent, it is our desire to work with the Government to get Britain back on its feet and to protect our nation’s vital services, but I also understand the ongoing anger and frustration regarding announcements that have been made since last year’s General Election.

As a Real Living Wage employer to 440 staff, increasing employer National Insurance while lowering the secondary threshold, will cost Nugent as a charity an additional £500,000 per year on top of the already confirmed annual cost of living salary increases – a combined figure closer to £1m per year.

I know this will be detrimental for many organisations, not just charitable, but I believe that if the Government could do more to support the voluntary sector at this time it would.

On Friday we heard from Wes Streeting about plans for a new independent commission to reform adult social care as part of Labour’s proposed National Care Service.

There has been backlash about the time that this is going to take, with a final report expected in 2028. However, reforms like this do take time and rightly so – there would be more cause for concern if the Government was claiming it could fix the social care crisis in a year – we need to be realistic, fix the root cause and create a sustainable future plan. Ideally, interim measures could be introduced to alleviate some of the concerns in the short term, whilst longer term, sustainable solutions are identified and brought in.

Looking to 2025, more needs to be done to address staff burnout, retention and promote care work as a respectable and skilled career choice.

Projections just a few months ago showed that approximately half a million more workers are needed in the social care sector and vacancies are at around three times the national average.

Clear, well-supported career training pathways and access to mental health resources are essential in order to build a resilient, long-term workforce.

I can see that the Government is taking steps to professionalise the workforce with fair pay agreements being legislated to fill more than 100,000 vacancies, alongside the £2,300 rise in carer’s allowance to support family carers.
But initiatives like upskilling care workers to deliver basic checks such as blood pressure monitoring would make a huge difference in relieving pressure on the NHS, while arming care workers with the tools to feel fulfilled in their roles.

The NHS and social care sector need to be more cohesive, with a shared digital platform to access medical information and ensure a seamless service for all service users across multiple touchpoints.

Better use of technology will inevitably ease pressure and increase independence for those being supported by the care system.

Virtual consultations, remote monitoring of chronic conditions and automated medication management will make life easier for the NHS, care workers and the people they support.

And finally, community care (as always) needs to be a priority; initiatives that bring younger and older generations together, such as volunteering, mentoring, or shared living arrangements can help reduce age-related isolation, pressure on the care workforce, and build a more compassionate and equitable society.