Social Care ‘Endangered’ By ‘Catastrophic’ National Insurance Increases, Warns ADASS President
The Government’s Budget decision to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will have “catastrophic consequences for millions of people drawing on care and support” will warn Melanie Williams, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).
Opening the National Children and Adult Services Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday 27th November, Ms Williams will say the decision will place adult social care under “even greater financial pressure, which will be insurmountable for some care providers, who people rely on for everyday basic needs like washing and dressing.”
It’s likely some Councils will have to consider further rationing care and support, focusing on those people with the greatest needs. People waiting for care are likely to face further delays, risking their health deteriorating further and those paying for their own care may be forced to cut back on support due to increasing costs, making their lives more difficult. Some care providers say they will stop providing care in certain areas or stop operating completely because it’s no longer cost effective, reducing care available for people.
Adding her voice to growing calls for an exemption for social care providers to the NICs increase, Mel Williams will argue that despite £600mn additional funding being announced in the Budget for adult social care, this won’t cover the significantly higher operating costs that care providers will now face as a result of increases in both NICs and the National Living Wage which in turn will impact on the fees councils pay to care providers, which ADASS can today reveal could cost up to £1.8bn.
While councils’ direct employees and the NHS will be exempt from the increases, social care providers including voluntary, community, faith and social enterprises which provide the vast majority of care they commission, will not. These costs will be passed on to councils which will force them to continue to overspend on adult social care budgets. Even before the budget, 81% of councils overspent on adult social care by half a billion pounds last year – and this is now set to increase.
ADASS is calling on the Government to counter the impact of the NI employer increases on the social care sector. Options being discussed within the sector include delaying the implementation of the increases, lowering the rates, exempting providers or paying councils compensation.
Mel Williams will say: “We cannot vision for a tomorrow when the cost of today has become so insurmountable. The budget had catastrophic impacts on the cost of Adult Social Care. Not just for Local Government, but also for out important partners who support people in their neighbourhoods and in our voluntary and community sector.”
ADASS members have been reporting concerns with the NICs increase, namely that the social care providers they work with are worried and it is impacting costs and contract negotiations already. ADASS staff have been sharing the views of its members and concerns with Government.
The Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock will have the chance to reassure the sector when he addresses the conference on Thursday 28th November.
