Invest in Homecare or undermine your own health reforms, government told
The Homecare Association has warned that government efforts to shift care from hospitals into the community will falter unless it provides councils with the funding to make that shift real and backs the care workforce delivering it.
Responding to the ADASS Spring Survey published today, the Association stressed that people who draw on care and support are already feeling the effects of overstretched local budgets. Some councils are reducing or cutting care services; some are cutting fee rates, forcing providers to hand back work, which affects continuity of care; and some are encouraging a shift to unregulated homecare because it is cheaper, leaving older and disabled people with no protection or recourse if something goes wrong. Preventative support and care, which helps people to live well at home, is being sacrificed to pay for those with complex care needs.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, CEO of the Homecare Association, said:
“Homecare transforms lives. It helps people stay well, connected and independent in their own homes, close to their loved ones, and part of their communities. However, it’s being systematically undervalued.
Directors of Adult Social Care are clear: without proper funding, they cannot pay providers fairly, meet rising demand, or invest in prevention. This results in people waiting too long for care, going without care, or being admitted to hospital unnecessarily.”
The ADASS report shows authorities overspent by £774 million last year on adult social care, the highest in a decade, and face an additional £932 million in savings in 2025-26. Spending on prevention has fallen to its lowest point in years, despite national ambitions to move towards neighbourhood health and care.
Yet despite the government’s stated priorities, councils are paying an average of just £23.85 per hour for homecare. This is nearly £9 below the Homecare Association’s Minimum Price for Homecare of £32.14, which reflects only the statutory Living Wage and employment costs. The Association’s 2025 Fee Rates Report [link] reveals 27% of homecare contracts have fees below the National Living Wage plus statutory employment on costs; some have seen no fee uplift at all despite an 8-10% increase in costs.
Dr Townson added:
“You cannot deliver safe, high-quality homecare on the cheap. You cannot shift care out of hospitals if you don’t fund the services people rely on at home.
If the Government is serious about prevention and community care, it must act now: legislate for a Minimum Price for Homecare and fund it through a National Contract for Care. This ensures fair pay for care workers, sustainable providers, and that people receive the support they deserve.
The Association welcomes the ADASS call for care leaders to shape investment in neighbourhood care, but said national leadership must come first with funding that matches policy ambition.
“Homecare offers solutions, not just for people who need support to live well at home, but for the NHS, for unpaid carers, and for society as a whole,” said Dr Townson. “But we’re nearing a point where the goodwill of providers and careworkers is all that’s holding the system together. It’s time for the government to match its words with action.”
