Campaigners call for tariffs for social care

CAMPAIGNERS are calling for national tariffs to set the price of social care packages to end the current unfair squeeze on providers.

The Independent Care Group says setting such national tariffs would protect care providers and give them a fairer price to deliver services. The call comes after the president of ADASS, Sarah McClinton admitted that “Councils have squeezed down prices paid to providers over many years”.

ICG chair Mike Padgham said: “It is good to see the president of ADASS give this honest account of what is happening to care providers.

“The price paid by local authorities to care providers has been squeezed and squeezed for many years to the point where it no longer reflects anything like the true cost of looking after people in their own home or supported living or in care and nursing homes.

“The end result is that providers are being pushed out of the market, especially with the added pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, dire staff shortages and spiraling costs.” He added he understood the pressures on local authorities who had themselves been chronically under-funded by successive governments.

“The current funding regime