IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Homecare Association, representing homecare providers across the United Kingdom, responds to today's Budget statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
While the Chancellor spoke of investment in the NHS and reducing waiting lists, the Budget contains no new funding for social care. The 250 new Neighbourhood Health Centres and commitment to delivering care closer to home cannot succeed without a properly funded homecare workforce to support people in their own homes.
The increase in the National Living Wage to £12.71 per hour is a welcome recognition of the value of care work. However, without corresponding increases to the fees local authorities pay for homecare, providers will be forced to absorb these costs at a time when many are already operating at unsustainable margins.
The Budget follows the publication of The Homecare Deficit 2025, which revealed that the UK faces a £3.25 billion annual shortfall to pay careworkers fairly and keep homecare providers sustainable. The report found that 29% of councils and Health and Social Care Trusts now pay average hourly rates that fail even to cover the direct employment costs of careworkers at the minimum wage, and that only one public organisation in the UK pays at or above the Homecare Association's Minimum Price for Homecare.
The extension of the fuel duty cut until September 2026 and the £150 reduction in household energy bills will provide some relief to care workers who travel between visits and to the vulnerable people they support. However, these measures do not address the fundamental funding challenge facing homecare.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said:
“This Budget represents a missed opportunity for social care. The Chancellor spoke repeatedly about cutting NHS waiting lists, yet failed to recognise that without adequate homecare, people will continue to be stuck in hospital beds when they could be recovering at home.
“We welcome the National Living Wage increase to £12.71 per hour, but care workers deserve fair pay that reflects the skilled and demanding nature of their work. Local authority fee rates must rise to match, or providers simply cannot afford to pay the new minimum wage, let alone offer the competitive salaries needed to attract and retain staff.
"The announcement of Neighbourhood Health Centres is promising in principle, but community-based care cannot function without homecare workers. We urge the Government to bring forward the social care reforms it has promised and commit to sustainable funding for the sector that keeps hundreds of thousands of people safe and well in their own homes every day."
"The Chancellor said, 'This Labour government is changing our country’, but you cannot transform health and care while ignoring social care. We urge the Government to recognise that investing in social care is not an alternative to investing in the NHS; it is essential to the lives of ordinary people, our economy and making the NHS work."
ENDS
For media inquiries, contact:
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07917 853 568
