Nicola’s Blog: social care pressures and national finance
Reflections on recent finance research for social care sector
Two key documents have been produced in the last week lobbying government on the status of finance and the social care sector: the Fabian Society’s report on The Fair Pay Agreement and the Health Foundation’s report on social care financial pressures.
SCA will keenly be awaiting the results of the Spending Review being announced on 11th June and we will update members on impacts as soon as we know. It is likely that the NHS 10 Year Plan will also be released during this time, which we will also summarise for you.
Do find my summary of most recent reports below evidencing the status of social care funding, which I hope you will find helpful.
Seizing the opportunity
The Fabian Society’s report, Seizing the Opportunity: The Fair Pay Agreement in Social Care, advocates for a transformative Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) in England’s adult social care sector.
It proposes a new minimum wage of £13.17 per hour—aligning care workers’ pay with NHS healthcare assistants—alongside improved sick pay, pension contributions, and structured pay progression.
But this requires significant additional government funding to make it happen – to the tune of an estimated £2 billion.
The report underscores that fair pay is essential not only for valuing a highly skilled workforce but also for addressing chronic recruitment and retention issues.
It calls for a fully funded national care service and a comprehensive workforce strategy to ensure long-term sustainability and quality in social care.
Health Foundation analysis released: evidence of shortfall
The Health Foundation’s analysis of adult social care funding pressures in England projects a significant financial shortfall by 2032–33, driven by rising demand from an ageing population and increasing complexity of people’s care needs. 
To maintain current service levels, they project that an additional £8.3 billion annually will be required; however, to enhance access and cover the full cost of care, the funding gap could escalate to £18.4 billion.
The report outlines four scenarios, ranging from merely meeting future demand to comprehensively improving access and fully covering care costs.
Despite government allocations of £2.8 billion in 2023/24 and £4.7 billion in 2024/25, these measures fall woefully short of what is required. Just as with the Fabian Society, the Health Foundation also emphasises the necessity for a long-term, fully funded strategy to ensure the sustainability and quality of adult social care services.*unspash/SCA