A dose of Budget reality for homecare

By Paul Roberts

www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk

Will homecare benefit from the 2009 Budget? The answer is yes…and no.

Alistair Darling’s announcement of funding for 50,000 apprenticeships in the care sector appears to be a positive move.

However, rising fuel costs could cripple many homecare providers.

And there are fears that homecare will fall victim to billions of pounds in ‘efficiency savings’ foisted on local government.

The social care apprenticeships will be open to 18 to 24-year-olds currently on the long-term unemployment register.

The recruitment drive will form part of the strategy to cope with the growing number of people who will need care in the next 20 years.

The apprenticeships have been welcomed by many, including Julie Jones, chief executive of the social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

She said investment in the scheme was ‘more than welcome, especially because of the high vacancy rates in the sector’.

Mike Wardle, chief executive of the General Social Care Council, said it was a ‘wonderful opportunity to encourage people to go into a very rewarding career’.

The UKHCA said the investment was a ‘welcome recognition of social care as a major business sector’.

However, it warned that the planned increase in fuel duty would have a direct impact on the travel costs of careworkers visiting people in their own homes.

‘Escalating fuel costs could be the final straw for many homecare providers already struggling under rising costs, exacerbated by under-funding by local authority social service departments,’ said the UKHCA.

‘Council under-funding is likely to deepen because of the additional £9 billion of efficiency savings in public services that the Budget demands.’

Councils are being asked to find substantial savings – although Mr Darling has emphasised that these will not be made from ‘frontline’ services.

Mike Padgham, UKHCA chairman, said past experience showed that councils would attempt to ‘pass these savings on to homecare providers’.

Despite assurances that this will not happen, the homecare industry is right to be anxious about this ‘give in one hand, take with another’ Budget.

Across the UK, homecare is falling victim to local authority spending cutbacks, with many now facing the prospect of operating at a loss or closure.

Financial advisers have told home care agencies that, in setting their budgets for the next two years, the best they may be able to achieve is:

1.       To break even

2.       To make a small to medium loss

The advice may be grim, but for many it will be realistic.

The need for safeguards for homecare funding could not be greater.

 Paul Roberts

www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk

Roberts Consultants, specialists in developing homecare businesses

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