Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed that social care reforms will be delayed by two years while announcing “the biggest increase in social care funding of any government”.

In today’s Autumn Statement the chancellor confirmed reports that the reforms, including a £86,000 cap on care costs from October 2023, will be delayed by two years.

The chancellor also announced that social care funding will increase by £1 billion in 2023 and by a further £1.7 billion in 2024 to help ease hospital bed blocking.

Hunt said the increase in funding would mean that 200,000 more care packages will be delivered over the next two years.

In a further announcement, Hunt said the government was introducing the “biggest increase in the national living wage”, which will rise by 9.7% from £9.50 to £10.42 from April 2023.

Debbie Price, chief executive of Shropshire’s largest not-for-profit care provider, Coverage Care Services, said the Chancellor’s £8 billion investment in health and social care services was very much needed but warned that urgent efforts were needed nationally to help tackle the mounting recruitment challenges facing the sector. 

She said: “Across the care sector and health profession nationally it’s becoming increasingly harder to attract new recruits and retain existing staff. The challenges of the pandemic have taken their toll on the workforce in general and we are fighting an uphill struggle when it comes to promoting health and social care as a career of choice to people. 

“It’s a serious issue which needs addressing urgently if care homes up and down the UK are to be expected to support the NHS and help free up thousands of hospital beds through community discharge.”