Social care reform – Starmer makes no promises
When Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to the nation outside No. 10 Downing Street following Labour’s comprehensive general election victory, he didn’t promise to ‘fix social care’. He kept to generality and, if he promised anything at all, it was simply to govern with integrity and humility and work towards building a United Kingdom […]
Care home businesses – the rationale for restructuring
Care homes in the UK are owned by around 5,500 different providers, with as many care homes being owned by small operators, including sole proprietors, as by the ‘Big Five’ operators with portfolios of more than 80 homes. This diversity of ownership helps the care home sector to be dynamic and responsive, offering client choice […]
Government’s backtrack on social care workforce investment of more concern than scrapping plans to cap fees
Before wringing our hands over the duplicity of the Labour Government in reneging on the previous incumbent’s commitment to implement the planned cap on how much people would have to spend on care fees, we should acknowledge that, had the Conservatives won the general election, they may well have similarly backtracked on their commitment. The […]
New VAT rules for private schools – implications for specialist care providers
New government legislation means that, as of 1 January next year, private schools will have to add 20% VAT (the standard rate) on to the fees they charge for their education and vocational training services. Private schools will also have to charge 20% VAT on their boarding services. This means of course, that as of […]
Darzi report on the NHS – another missed opportunity
Anyone who reads Lord Darzi’s report on the National Health Service in detail will see that he says very little about social care. To be fair, Lord Darzi acknowledges that: “It is impossible to understand what has been happening in the NHS without understanding what has happened to social care, although social care is outside […]
Not quite what we were expecting
In announcing the Autumn Budget this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves made much of its focus on increased public spending, but very little of the extra revenue from increased taxation will go towards funding social care. Yes, there is an allocation of £600 million in new grant funding for social care, shared across both adult and […]