Home care providers have written to prime minister Theresa May demanding changes to support their sector, including ensuring that councils’ ‘market-shaping obligations’ are enforced.
In an open letter, the United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHAC) says funding should meet the public’s expectations and ensure that money reaches front-line services.
It says the recent election campaign showed the importance of social care to the electorate but with a minority government there was a risk it was becoming ‘too hot to handle’.
It says councils’ market-shaping obligations under the Care Act 2014 in England should be enforced and the workforce should not be adversely affected by Brexit.
In a range of demands, the association says the government should:
- Provide tax incentives to help people with their care costs
- Require councils to conduct open and transparent cost of care exercises with their providers
- Change the VAT rules so that care providers can reclaim their input tax increase the number of apprenticeship places
- Provide an exemption from the immigration skills charge for nurses
- Fund ‘vanguard sites’ to investigate new models of service delivery
UKHCA chair Mike Padgham said: ‘Social care was a pivotal issue during the election and had an impact on the outcome.
‘During this crucial period government must take a fresh look at big issues, and we urge them to make sure that social care is at the top.’
