NEWS IN BRIEF

POLICY & POLITICS

In his Autumn Statement the chancellor confirmed reports that social care reforms, including a £86,000 cap on care costs from October 2023, will be delayed by two years. The chancellor also announced that social care funding will increase by £1 billion in 2023 and by a further £1.7 billion in 2024 to help ease hospital bed blocking.

Nurses across the UK backed strike action as they seek a pay rise of 5% above the rate of inflation. The Royal College of Nursing said the majority of NHS employers had supported its first nationwide strike in its 106-year history, which is scheduled to begin towards the end of the year and potentially run until May next year.

Scottish social care minister Kevin Stewart rejected calls to pause plans for a National Care Service over concerns about how it will be financed. The plans for a free at the point of use service similar to the NHS have been estimated by Scottish Parliament researchers to cost up to £1.2 billion but Audit Scotland has said delivery of the service could be well above that.

Care England also called for a ‘1948 moment’ for social care to deliver a longterm and sustainable future for the sector. The call came with the publication of a Care Provider Alliance briefing, ‘The state of the social care and support provision in England’.

Secretary of state for health and social care Steve Barclay announced details of how the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund will be spent to help easing bed blocking in the NHS this winter. During a speech at the NHS Providers Conference, Barclay revealed that the first tranche of the funds will be provided to integrated care boards in early December with the second tranche being rolled out at the end of January.

Fears rose of a new wave of Covid-19 in care homes with as of November only 8% of care home staff having received their autumn jabs. The latest government figures showed the number of vaccinated care home workers has dropped alarmingly with more than 84% of care home workers previously having at least two jabs.

National Care Forum member, Community Integrated Care, launched an innovative programme to help people who work in social care and the people they support with rising energy costs. ‘Taking charge’ offers vital support and guidance to help significantly cut energy bills and save people hundreds of pounds.

Care home residents are to have the legal right to have visitors under legislation planned by the government it was reported. The Times said the legislation was being planned for care home residents and hospital patients.

Care England called for an investigation into “horrendous and financially crippling” energy bills facing care homes this winter. In a letter to Ofgem, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, seen by Caring Times, chief executive Professor Martin Green accused energy suppliers of being “unduly onerous” in their practices.

Martin Green

FINANCE

Two directors were banned for 25 years after abusing millions of pounds of investors’ funds in a care home investment scheme. Christopher Bateman and his business partner, Nicola Fairweather were investigated by the Insolvency Service after their Cheshire businesses GCC Management and Amek Solutions went into insolvency. >

Agincare’s Training Now team

> PROVIDER & SUPPLIER NEWS

Cambridgeshire County Council cancelled a £64 million, 15-year block contract with HC-One. The move follows HC-One’s decision to close The Elms care home in Whittlesey after it was rated Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.

An Agincare training company specialising in social care, education and business apprenticeships was rated Good by Ofsted. The Training Now team celebrated after being rated Good in all categories following an inspection in September.

Not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people, Anchor, was accredited as a Real Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation. The move by Anchor, which employs 9,000 staff across the country, followed an annual pay review each spring, which is higher than the National Minimum Wage.

Not-for-profit provider Anchor completed its biggest acquisition in recent years with the purchase of Halcyon Care Homes Topco. The acquisition comprised 11 purpose-built residential care homes, one of which is currently in development, in the East Midlands and South of England, and brings Anchor’s total number of homes to 125.

RECRUITMENT & TRAINING

Skills for Care launched a campaign to support social care providers with effective workforce planning. The organisation’s ‘Planning for success’ campaign will include information and ideas to explain what workforce planning is and how to do it well.

The government relaunched its ‘Made with care’ recruitment campaign to encourage people in England to join the adult social care workforce. The campaign, which runs until March next year and aims to reach millions of people through video on demand, radio and digital channels, highlights the wide range of opportunities available to build a career and help people live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.

Independent care provider, Maria Mallaband Care Group has introduced flexible working to boost its care home recruitment. The move is designed to appeal to a wider field of potential talent, including those with young children or other caring responsibilities, students and people with second jobs.

Care minister Helen Whately

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