Avenues response to the 2024 autumn Budget 

Friday 8th of November 2024

The Labour government’s first Budget in autumn 2024, announced by Rachel Reeves, introduced a number of measures that could have a damaging effect on charities, including adult social care providers. 

There is good news for many of our frontline support workers in the form of an increase in the National Living Wage. However, it also included significant decisions on National Insurance that are going to cost us very large sums of money.  

In the Budget, we saw the NHS receive investment of £22 billion, compared with £600 million for social care. It also indicates the increases in costs we are facing are unlikely to be funded in full by our commissioners.  

Jo Land, Avenues Chief Executive says  

“Social care still isn’t getting the change and investment it so badly needs. While of course the government’s focus on the NHS is needed, it’s hard to understand how social care is not included when it’s a foundation of NHS effectiveness. 

“I welcome the increase to National Living Wage, because our frontline staff deserve this and so much more. However, the not-for-profit social care sector needs additional funding if we are to continue to provide the services, on their behalf, to which vulnerable people in their communities are statutorily entitled.  

“We anticipate that the combined effect of these measures would be an increase in our costs of more than £3million.  

“We also need to see an appreciation from our local authority and NHS commissioners of the scale of the challenge we are facing and the extent to which we will need their support if we are to continue to provide the services, on their behalf, to which vulnerable people in their communities are statutorily entitled.” 

What Avenues is doing

At Avenues, we are working with sector colleagues to try to bring about change from the government. This includes NCVO, the Specialist Care Coalition, Providers Unite, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) and the National Care Forum. [List updated 13 November 2024.]

What you can do

Please sign this petition calling the government to exempt all social care providers from the employer National Insurance contribution increase. You can also ask family and friends to do the same. Let’s get it to 100,000 signatures!