Hft welcomes Lib Dems’ focus on social care, urges long-term funding solutions

Hft, the learning disability charity, has welcomed the Liberal Democrats putting social care high on their manifesto agenda, particularly the proposal to create a cross-party commission that delivers long-term funding solutions for social care and addresses these workforce challenges.

However, according to Steve Veevers, CEO of Hft, this approach will take brave and strong leadership to address head-on the complexities and challenges the sector is facing.

He said:

“A lasting solution will mean resisting the temptation to offer quick fixes or exploiting the issue for political gain by any of the parties.”

He added that any solutions to the social care crisis would need to ensure funding reaches the frontline and that Local Authorities are held to the highest account in how they use money allocated by the central government to support social care.

He said:

“Our Sector Pulse Check report, published in partnership with Care England, revealed that, due to funding shortfalls, around 40% of providers have been in deficit for the past two years.

“Low levels of pay, alongside poor perceptions of careers in social care, contribute to high rates of turnover and vacancies.

“Ultimately, this means social care providers can be forced to turn people away or, in some cases, close services altogether.

“Social care providers need the security of a long-term funding settlement. This means ringfenced funding for Local Authorities that enables them to pay the real cost of care, including a wage for the workforce which reflects the importance of their work,” Steve stresses.

“As a charity, we look forward to working with all parties to find sustainable solutions to provide long-term financial security for our sector and enable it to deliver at its best for the people we support.”