Has the Chancellor forgotten social care?
Amy Little
Amy Little, our Head of Advocacy, responds to the Chancellor’s latest Budget. She reflects on a Budget speech that did not mention disabled people or social care. And she explains why disabled people needed much greater support.
The Chancellor’s speech did not mention disabled people at all. And it did not mention adult social care. The Budget Red Book simply reannounced the £500 million from January, which doesn’t even come close to plugging the gaps.
Social care
While declaring one of his 'greatest privileges was to be Health Secretary,' in this week’s Budget the Chancellor seemingly forgot he was actually the former Health and Social Care Secretary.
Ever the overlooked sibling, adult social care was again ignored in Jeremy Hunt's Budget speech. Disabled adults of all ages urgently need social care, and the entire sector is on its knees. Yet the Budget offered no new funding for adult social care.
Perhaps the Chancellor also forgot his 2022 LBC interview with Andrew Marr, lamenting that his big regret as Health and Social Care Secretary was failing to transform the social care system.
And perhaps the Chancellor forgot that when he chaired the Health and Social Care Select Committee in 2020, it called for an additional £7 billion a year for social care as a 'starting point'.
The Chancellor’s speech did not mention disabled people at all. And it did not mention adult social care. The Budget Red Book simply reannounced the £500 million from January, which doesn’t even come close to plugging the gaps.
So there’s nothing new when adult social care requires £2 billion just to meet the vital National Living Wage rise, which begins in April. And nothing new when there is still a workforce crisis – with more than 150,000 vacancies across the UK.
Once again, hard-hit local councils will be forced to make cuts and disabled people will go without essential care.
Tax cuts must not be at the expense of people’s care.
It is devastating that disabled people still have no targeted financial support. Disabled people face substantial extra costs, often using more energy.
Extra costs of disability
It is devastating that disabled people still have no targeted financial support. Disabled people face substantial extra costs, often using more energy. Our calculations show high energy users will pay £675 more in the year ahead than the average household.
While we welcome the six-month extension of the Household Support Fund, it must be better aimed at disabled people. We also urge the Government to move away from a last-minute, short-term approach to the fund. The Government must give local authorities long-term funding for locally-delivered emergency support schemes. This would offer greater financial security for people in need.
This election year, we’ll continue to push for all political parties to make social care a key priority and to commit to policies that support the one in four of our population living with a disability.
