A social care campaigner is calling on the UK to “care more in 2024” as we head towards a general election.

Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group, wants to see social care front and centre in general election manifestos, a start to major reform of the sector and greater recognition of the amazing work social care staff do.

Padgham said: “We have to care more in 2024 and finally begin the reform of social care we have been waiting for now for more than 30 years.

“2023 was a year few of us will want to remember. There was no movement on reform, a continuing squeeze on funding and, towards the end of the year, a couple of body blows that left us bruised.”

The care leader warned that, while welcome for employees, the “unexpectedly large increase in the National Living Wage” would further squeeze care providers without a commensurate rise in funding.

Furthermore, he said the ban on migrant care workers’ dependants would make recruitment even more challenging.

Padgham said he looked forward to some “blue-sky thinking” in election manifestos.

“Social care reform makes sense from two enormous perspectives,” he added. “Firstly, some extra funding into the sector will help us recruit staff and tackle the 1.6 million people who cannot currently get the care they need, not to mention the hundreds of thousands more who will need it in the future. It would also help the NHS to cut delayed hospital discharges and lower waiting lists – surely, that’s win, win, win.

“And secondly, social care employs around 1.5 million people in England, but with greater support, it could employ even more and increase the £55.7 billion contribution it makes to the economy. It would also free up those currently unable to work because they are caring for loved ones.

“We have our part to play. We must ensure our house is in order, that we are doing all we can to recruit locally, for example, and to control our costs and make a job in social care as attractive as possible. We must work together to root out poor care that damages our reputation. And we must speak with a united voice and not be distracted by differences in approach – the argument over whether all care should be provided by not-for-profit organisations, for example.”

The Independent Care Group has set out its Five Pillars of Social Care. These include ring-fencing a percentage of GDP for care, creating a National Care Service, setting a minimum carer wage, establishing a task force for reform and creating fair tariffs for care beds and home care visits.