Social care funding move savaged as gutless stealth tax by former Care Minsiter

The Government has been accused of applying a “sticking plaster” solution to the crisis in adult social care, after announcing £900 million of new funding over the next two years.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said local authorities in England will be able to hike council tax bills by a total of 6% over the period to raise £652 million for social care, while a further £240 million will come from a new Government support grant with money taken from the new homes bonus scheme.

But the cash was described as “a drop in the ocean” by the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) of charities, while Labour and unions warned it would create a “postcode lottery” as council tax increases raise more in rich areas than more disadvantaged ones.

If taken up in full by town halls, the 3% “social care precept” for the years 2017/18 and 2018/19 would add a total £90 to the bill for average Band D property. But Mr Javid said they would have to be followed by a 0% precept in 2019/20, meaning there was no overall increase over a three-year period

Unveiling the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2017/18 in the House of Commons, Mr Javid said the Government was working on long-term reforms to provide a “sustainable” system for everyone who needs social care. The new funding would bring to £7.6 billion the total dedicated funding for social care over four years, he said.

But the president of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace), Jo Miller, said that the extra money would not provide a long-term solution to problems in the £14 billion adult social care system. Ahead of the new announcement, councils were warning the system was heading for a £2.6 billion shortfall in 2020.

“Simply robbing Peter to pay Paul will not tackle a systemic funding problem. This needs a long-term national solution that does not simply exacerbate existing imbalances,” said Ms Miller.

And CSA chair Vicky McDermott said: “This temporary injection of cash is a drop in the ocean and does nothing to solve the long-term challenges facing the system.

“This Government needs to urgently look at a long-term funding solution to create a care system that we all want to see, which ensures: there are beds in care homes for people who need it; that home care gives people dignity in their own home; that carers don’t have to work themselves into ill-health to care for their family; and that hospitals don’t have to prop up a falling system.”

In a speech to an NHS rally in London on Thursday evening, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was due to accuse ministers of “passing the buck, dodging the blame and handing the bill to those who can least afford it”.

Mr Corbyn will say: “Raising council tax to pay for social care means the Government doesn’t have to pay a penny. This Tory Government is letting down older people. Billions are available for tax giveaways to corporations while many elderly people are left without support because of Government cuts to social care.”

Figures from the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC-UK) suggested that the value of a 3% precept would vary wildly across the country, with those having small elderly populations benefiting the most.

The east London borough of Tower Hamlets, where only 6% of the population is over 65, could raise £160 for each elderly person, the think tank found. But in West Somerset, which has a 32% elderly population, a 3% precept would raise only £53 for each over-65.

ILC-UK head of economics Ben Franklin described the announcement as “spin not substance”, adding: “Simply raising the precept will be nowhere near adequate to meeting the care needs of the UK’s ageing population and will exacerbate the extreme postcode lottery that already exists for people trying to access care services. The promise that local authorities can keep the new homes bonus is a sticking plaster on top of a sticking plaster.”

Rehana Azam, of the GMB, said that morale was “at an all-time low” among the union’s members in the care sector. “This half-baked response from Government will apply more crushing pressure to their already difficult roles in caring for the elderly and the most vulnerable in society,” she said. “Now we will all pay the price for this social care postcode lottery – today’s announcement is a disaster and the Prime Minister needs to step up and address this.”

Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “This social care tax rise is a gutless stealth tax rise that has been created by the Government but left to councils to shake down the poorest in society for more cash.”

“Letting councils put up taxes will raise some money in some areas – but we face a national crisis. This isn’t about councils’ being able to supplement essential care, it is about providing it and that needs proper funding from central government.”

Trio of MPs call for cross-party review into social care ‘national crisis’

Three influential MPs have called on the Government to initiate a cross-party review to address the “national crisis” of social care.

Labour’s Clive Betts, Tory Sarah Wollaston and Lib Dem Norman Lamb joined forces in the Commons to warn about the long-term future of the care sector.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said he was willing to talk across parties and with health leaders about the issue, in order to come up with a sustainable solution.

But Mr Javid went on to face further calls from Tory backbenchers for firm action towards such cross-party talks.

Former care minister Mr Lamb, communities and local government select committee chairman Mr Betts and health select committee chairwoman Dr Wollaston all spoke as Mr Javid announced measures he said would create an additional £900 million funding for social care over the next two years.

Mr Betts said NHS chief executive Simon Stevens had told his select committee on Wednesday that while integration between health and social care was desirable, “it is not of itself going to solve the problems of social care in the longer term”.

Mr Betts added: “Will he not agree to a much wider review, involving the Local Government Association fully in it, but also to try and get cross-party agreement for a genuine, sustainable solution for the longer term, which will need all parties to support.”

Dr Wollaston said it was good news that people were living longer, adding: “Whilst I welcome that some of this money will be brought forward, I really don’t feel that we’re going far enough in this House to address the scale of the increase in demand, if we’re going to allow people to be cared for with dignity in their old age.

“Could I join the chair of the DCLG committee in asking the Government to start cross-party talks urgently, to have a long-term, fair, sustainable settlement for both health and social care.”

In response to Dr Wollaston, Mr Javid said: “She also referred to talking widely, including with members of the opposition, and I would include local leaders in that, health professionals, social care professionals, and that’s certainly what I intend to do over the coming months, to make sure that we can always keep this under review.”

But Mr Lamb called the Government’s action “a truly feeble response to a national crisis”.

He added: “When will the Government come forward with plans to work genuinely across parties?

“There have been two suggestions already in this question and answer session; the Secretary of State hasn’t answered either question.

“When will he work with others to come up with a genuine solution for what is now a real national crisis?”

Later on in the session Tories Jo Churchill (Bury St Edmunds), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) and Peter Bone (Wellingborough) all called for cross-party talks in order to find a long-term solution.

“I agree entirely with the excellent chairman of the select committee, and also the former care minister, who speaks for the Liberal Democrats,” said Mr Bone.

“What we need here is genuine, cross-party support.

“This isn’t a party issue, and I would just urge the Secretary of State to see, explore, at least explore the possibility whether there could be some cross-party working on this.”

Replying to Mr Bone, Mr Javid said: “The more we can all cooperate and put the party politics aside and deal with this issue, properly for the long term – there are some significant, long-term challenges in this sector – we will all be better off, and our constituents would thank us for it.”

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