Care England has called for immediate and long-term investment in the adult social care sector ahead of the government’s fiscal statement on 17 November.

The representative body has written to chancellor Jeremy Hunt to detail the scale and severity of the issues facing adult social care and set out our key asks for the sector, principally relating to energy, funding and the workforce. 

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said: “In addition to providing invaluable services to people who draw on care or support, the adult social care sector plays a central, and often overlooked, role in our economy. Without a substantial investment increase in the sector, the Treasury hampers its ability to reprimand ongoing pressures within the NHS. This will not only cause health services to suffer but will also have detrimental knock-on effects on the wider economic health of the nation.

“The Prime Minister has been clear that the government will always support the NHS and that the NHS will continue to be prioritised as difficult decisions are taken on spending. Yet, it is not possible to have a healthy NHS without a healthy social care sector. Whilst we recognise and appreciate the financial pressures currently faced within the NHS, addressing those within social care is a prerequisite for a well-functioning health and social care system and must be prioritised by this new government in the upcoming fiscal statement.”

Care England is calling on the government to commit to the current timetable for social care reform and to extend energy bills support to the sector beyond the current 31 March deadline.

The representative body also wants the government to immediately fill the £7 billion gap in sector funding and introduce a fully funded 10-year workforce plan.

A government spokesperson said: “Social care is a top priority and we are committed to bolstering the workforce and protecting people from unpredictable care costs – backed by £5.4 billion over the next three years.

“We’re also making £500 million available this winter to support discharge from hospital into the community, which can be used flexibly by local health and care systems to target areas facing the greatest challenge.

“The chancellor will set out a plan to see debt falling as part of the Autumn Statement on 17 November – this will require some difficult decisions but protecting public services and the most vulnerable will be prioritised.”