New social care plans risk backlash over failure to tackle England’s winter crisis

The Guardian reports that Ministers are risking a fresh backlash over social care by unveiling long awaited proposals that will offer no new funding to help crisis-hit care providers through winter

The care minister, Gillian Keegan MP (Con), unveiled the white paper to parliament on Wednesday in what has been billed as a key part of delivering on the Prime Minister’s 2019 promise to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all”.

The package includes proposals to invest some of the £5.4bn that will be raised by the new health and social care tax, with several hundred million pounds to boost the development of “assisted living”, as well as more than £100m into improving the technology used in care settings.

Both initiatives are likely to be welcomed, potentially boosting the independence of people who rely on care and helping them stay at home for longer.

However, there appeared to be nothing to boost care worker pay in the short term amid existing crippling staff shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.

Full article:

The Guardian - New social care plans risk backlash over failure to tackle England’s winter crisis

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