Labour’s Commitment to Social Care Funding
One of the biggest challenges that our new Labour government faces is the ongoing crisis in Social Care. Wes Streeting, the new Health Secretary, and Stephen Kinnock, the new Minister of State for Social Care are under pressure to make a real difference to an issue that is often overshadowed by other challenges such as funding the NHS. This is despite the fact that the lack of adequate funding for social care has such a negative impact on the economy, mental health and quality of life of so many.
Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged a “programme of reform to create a National Care Service”. This would be underpinned by national standards and delivering consistency of care across the country. They also pledged to establish a fair pay agreement in adult social care, and to build consensus for the long-term reforms required to build a sustainable National Care Service. These pledges are not supported by any funding promises and represent a reduced scope compared to the pledges in the party’s 2019 manifesto. This had included free personal care for older people and extra care packages.
Although it was not directly stated in their manifesto, Labour’s leadership have committed to the introduction of the £86,000 cap on care costs, as opposed to the £35,000 figure recommended by the 2011 Dilnott review. Wes Streeting told BBC Radio 4 that he had “no plans to change that situation and that [it is] the certainty and stability I want to give the system at this stage.”
Hospital discharge is a real and growing issue – Age UK reported in 2023 that on a day-by-day basis, over 13,000 adults are “stranded” in hospital waiting for social care packages in the community – a figure that has increased from 4,500 in 2018/9.
The only party that focused on social care throughout the election campaign was the Liberal Democrats. Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader spoke about the care he and his wife personally provide for their son, who has severe learning and physical disabilities due to a neurological condition. Davey used the campaign to highlight the challenges that carers such as himself face, and proposed a number of comprehensive reforms, including:
- The introduction of free personal care based on the Scottish model (as Labour had supported in their 2019 manifesto) and the establishment of a cross-party commission to agree on sustainable funding for social care
- A National Care Agency and a Royal College of Care Workers to represent the care workforce
- Introducing a carers minimum wage, increasing the Carer’s Allowance with greater eligibility, and a guarantee of regular respite for unpaid carers and paid carers’ leave
- Making caring a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010
- The introduction of a young carer’s pupil premium as part of a young carers education guarantee
With 71 elected MPs, the Liberal Democrats have their largest ever cohort in the House of Commons and have announced that they intend to push Keir Starmer to begin cross-party talks on a new plan for Social Care.
Starmer indicated during the campaign that building consensus on the future of social care is vital. So it was disappointing that there was not a single mention of social care among the 35 bills that were announced in the King’s Speech earlier this month.
Whilst the governance of football clubs and the reform of the House of Lords are no doubt important issues, we would have hoped that the 500,000 adults who have been on social care waiting lists for over six months would have been considered a greater priority.
Funding is the real issue here and it is unlikely that any increase in funding will be clear until Rachel Reeves delivers her first budget. This is unlikely to be before September. The party pledged an additional £7.3bn of extra public expenditure for the NHS, social care and schools. But it is likely that only a small proportion of this will end up being directed towards social care. The challenges in the system are considerable and costly, with the Local Government Association (LGA) claiming that local authorities in England face a £6.2bn funding gap over the next two years.
There are no easy solutions to the crisis in social care, but we urge Labour to put its money where its mouth is and provide a fair and adequately funded solution in the years ahead.
For expert advice about social care funding and paying for care, contact our Community Care law team on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk.
