Cordis Bright reposted this
Chief Executive: Voluntary Organisations Disability Group. Trustee and various honorary academic portfolios. Bsky: @rhidianhughes.bsky.social X: @rhidianhughes
Already over-stretched disability charities are heading into a very difficult financial year, probably the worst for many years and certainly in my tenure at VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group). The direct result of HM Treasury policy decisions about National Insurance and wage changes are set to cost VODG members alone £266million. This is independent analysis we commissioned Cordis Bright to undertake and it is unfortunately confirming my fears about what this will mean for essential services: https://lnkd.in/eCkj4V5y Charities cannot wait while policy makers consider options. Decisions are being made today about how care and support for disabled people will be organised from April 2025. This means a quarter of organisations are considering redundancies due to soaring staff costs, and 1 in 3 disability charities are poised to hand back local council contracts. These contracts are statutory services which involves the state discharging its legal duties through commissioned providers. We need the forthcoming Local Government Finance Settlement to secure additional funding and/or for the HM Treasury to reconsider the tax exemptions that apply to other areas of public service. In response to lucy johnston this weekend I am encouraged that Department of Health and Social Care Minister Karin Smyth MP who is responsible for system oversight said government is “willing and keen to talk“. We will be following up. https://lnkd.in/eS-XeCYd
Excluding care-providing charities from the NI rise exemption will have devastating consequences, undermining the very intention behind it. More charities will be, or are already being forced to hand back vital care contracts, heaping additional strain, and additional cost, on already stretched NHS services. We welcome this new research, which confirms our initial assessment of the situation. The findings make it clear: this oversight threatens the sustainability of essential services for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We stand with VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group) in urging the government to secure additional funding and reconsider the tax exemptions that already support other public services. It’s time for action because the care sector cannot afford to be overlooked.
Good luck, the challenge is to bring to life the immediate real life impact of this decision, there is a lot of talk of increased pressure on healthcare services and removal of vital services, over-stretched services and handing back contracts etc which are all true, and the government will counter with phrases like ‘difficult decisions’ and ‘tackling the challenges’. The challenge is to cut through and make the impact meaningful.
We have supported (AKA underpinned) statutory services for so long I think we have all - including statutory services - forgotten what it might look like if we do not. Local authorities failing to pay their debts to charities is widespread and is having a massive impact and will come back to bite LAs very soon. It is a false economy but as they are overall elected members it is the votes they are watching, not the impact on actual people. There is some shameful behaviour on show right now.
It feels like a very dangerous game of ‘chicken’ - I already know of small private providers calling time in a service that is already under resourced.
CEO at Brandon Trust | Organisational Design & Development Expert | Specialist in health and social care policy, partnerships, governance and transformational change
3wThanks for commissioning this crucial analysis which helps to demonstrate the risks to the continuity and availability of support for people who draw on social care. Now we need clarity on how these risks can best be mitigated.