Our sector will receive just £2.9bn over three years. That will do nothing to mitigate decades of underfunding
- Mike Padgham is the managing director of Saint Cecilia’s Care Group
Watching the government’s announcement on Tuesday of a new health and social care levy in England, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu: it was the type of damp squib moment that those of us who work in the care sector have become used to over the past 30 years.
The rise in national insurance will raise £36bn in the coming three years – but the bulk of that is going to tackle shortfalls in the NHS. Only around £5.4bn is likely to find its way to social care – a term that refers to the providers of care for elderly and disabled people. Factor in that £2.5bn of that will be needed to fund the new cap on care costs, which should stop people from paying over the odds, and that just leaves £2.9bn.