We respond to today’s King’s Speech

Community Integrated Care’s Chief Executive, Jim Kane, has commented on today’s King’s Speech in the House of Lords:

“The inclusion of plans for a fair pay agreement for care workers within the proposed Employment Bill is welcome news to all those impacted by social care. As a charity, we have long championed the need to uplift pay for our colleagues, in order to reduce the unsustainable number of vacancies and turnover of staff we’re currently experiencing.

However, there are two fundamental caveats to make this proposal a success. Firstly, any increase in pay will need to go hand-in-hand with an uplift in local government funding; otherwise already strained care provider and local council budgets will be further squeezed. Secondly, as we’ve long called for in our Unfair To Care campaign, there needs to be immediate, emergency action on pay before these longer-term plans can be established. Without taking urgent measures to support the social care sector, the NHS will never be fixed.

However, whilst the fair pay agreement is positive, we’re disappointed that the King’s Speech didn’t reference the wider reform of social care, or any of the expected Government support for the establishment of a Cross-Party Royal Commission. It’s vital that the process of reform begins as soon as possible to create a sustainable future, and the sector stands ready and waiting to collaborate with the Government on these proposals.”