Carers UK responds to Spring Statement 2019
In his Spring Statement today (Wednesday 13th March 2019) the Chancellor did not make any commitments to the funding of social care.
13 Mar 2019
News
Chancellor urged to match words with actions and provide funding to ease social care recruitment crisis
Hft is calling on Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond to match words with actions and provide an emergency cash injection for the social care sector in his Spring Statement, to help providers address the ongoing recruitment crisis in the sector. Last month, the charity published its annual Sector Pulse Check, which provides a yearly snapshot of the financial health of the social care sector. The report warned that 80% of providers cited the "enforced low pay model" - where local authorities commission fees at the lowest wage level possible - as the biggest challenge for recruiting new staff. As a result, 63% of providers reported increases in agency fee spend, and that it was now a major financial pressure (a fifty percentage-point increase from the 2017/18 survey).
13 Mar 2019
Disabled pensioners freed from 'unnecessary' benefits checks
Disabled pensioners will no longer face "unnecessary" repeat assessments to continue receiving benefits, the work and pensions secretary has announced. From spring, 270,000 people in Britain will not have personal independence payments (PIPs) regularly reviewed.
13 Mar 2019
Social care 'national scandal and disgrace'
It is one of the biggest domestic policy issues of our times - where should the balance be struck between the individual and the state's responsibility for paying for care in old age? A much-anticipated government policy paper for England has still not surfaced. Experts are calling it a "national scandal" with services in parts of the country near collapse and millions of vulnerable people deprived of the care and support they need.
HP
13 Mar 2019
Tory U-turn on cuts to disability clubs
The drastic cuts to funding for disability friendship clubs, which Wiltshire Council's beleagured administration proudly announced last month, have now been postponed at least until next year. This follows an outcry from those affected and their supporters. The responsible cabinet member, Jerry Wickham, said: "I very much regret the upset this has caused to the users and staff at the clubs and I extend my apologies."
13 Mar 2019
'I was accused of pretending that my daughter was sick'
It was a revelation that left Nicky Rowlands aghast - the moment she discovered she was being accused of fabricating the illness that had left her daughter in pain. Worse was to come. Her daughter Bethanie had to go to a hospital unit for a psychological disorder which she did not have.
RC
13 Mar 2019