A group of leading charities have warned that the Budget will result in a funding crisis for services to the elderly as many social workers will be unable to get paid the minimum wage.
In a stark message to the government, a series of charities warned that “more and more” vulnerable and elderly people will be left competing for increasingly “rationed” care as providers struggle to pay the new national living wage to workers.
Issue With Social Care
While the charity praised the arrival of a new minimum wage and welcomed the £7.20 rise expected soon, two-thirds of staff in the sector will still earn below the living wage. With local councils expected to suffer under austerity, with over £1 billion from social care this budget, a drop of one-third of current spending, many charities are expected a drop in the number of social workers and quality of social care as the number of elderly people in the UK grows.
Martin Green, of Care England, the charity, said that unless the measure were properly funded, it “could lead to a reduction in a provision and even more pressure placed upon the NHS”.
He added: “Nobody in this Government seems capable of understanding that the level of funding is totally inadequate. They must heed the warnings of many independent commentators, and the NHS, that unless they put more money into social care, the system is in danger of collapse.”
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: “The living wage will provide a really important boost to care workers, but unless the overall budget is also increased, we fear more and more older people will miss out on the support they badly need.”
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