The Homecare Association has welcomed the vision set out in the NHS 10-Year Plan announced by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP, which promises more care delivered closer to home and a stronger focus on prevention. The Association has warned the NHS will not meet these goals, however, without urgent action to stabilise and invest in homecare.
“Every day, homecare workers support older people, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to live with dignity and independence in their own homes. We’re proud to play a vital role already in keeping people well, connected, and out of hospital.”
said Dr Jane Townson OBE, CEO of the Homecare Association.
The plan's ambitious 'three shifts' - from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention - cannot succeed without a properly funded and integrated homecare sector. Yet social care appears notably absent from the £10 billion digital transformation investment, despite care workers being essential partners in delivering the government's vision of neighbourhood-based care.
Our latest research shows the scale of this challenge: the average local authority fee rate of £24.10 per hour falls £8.04 short of the £32.14 minimum needed to deliver safe, regulated care, with an estimated funding gap for homecare of at least £1.6 billion in England alone.
Dr Townson added:
“People receiving homecare need continuity, trusted relationships, and a team around them who have the time and understanding to support their health and wellbeing.
“Neighbourhood teams offer a huge opportunity to deliver truly joined-up care, but only if the government fixes how councils and the NHS commission and purchase homecare. Right now, services are too often fragile, fragmented and under-funded.”
The Association also raised concerns about the NHS increasing its expectations on care workers, particularly in delivering delegated healthcare tasks traditionally carried out by nurses.
Dr Townson, continued:
“There is growing focus on care workers taking on delegated tasks and many already support people with medication, wound care, stomas and more. NHS commissioners often fail to recognise the real costs, training needs, and risks involved. Without clear policy and proper funding, this simply isn’t safe or feasible on the ground.”
The plan's digital transformation - including single patient records and the enhanced NHS App - offers huge potential for integrated care. However, this vision of seamless, technology-enabled neighbourhood teams will fail if care workers lack the training, support, and technological infrastructure to act as equal partners. The current underfunding makes such integration hard.
While the government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement for social care is a welcome step, the Homecare Association emphasised it is not enough on its own.
Dr Townson said:
“We’ve seen very little real investment in social care and minimal Government focus beyond pay reform.”
“If Ministers want this plan to succeed, they must back homecare as a core part of the NHS future, not a forgotten add-on.”
It is deeply concerning that social care appears peripheral to this transformational plan, when it should be central to achieving the government's stated ambitions. This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how modern healthcare actually works - and a huge missed opportunity to build the integrated system the public needs.
The Homecare Association is calling on the Government to:
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Embed homecare in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams alongside GPs and community health services.
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Recognise and resource the safe delivery of delegated healthcare tasks.
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Replace fragmented, short-term contracting with a national framework that focuses on outcomes for people.
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Commission homecare at rates that reflect actual costs and allow for personalised, preventative care.
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Ring-fence social care budgets and invest at least £1.6 billion in homecare straight away to meet historic funding deficits.
Dr Townson concluded:
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape health and care for the better.”
“It’s now or never for the NHS and for a Government with everything to gain or lose by getting this right. Ministers must not overlook the power of homecare to transform lives, support families, and relieve pressure on hospitals. We are ready to deliver, but we need them to act.”
ENDS
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