Social care is more than a service.
It’s a lifeline for millions of individuals, families, and communities across the UK – and it saves lives every day.
On Thursday 13th February, we led a joined-up event at Hove Town Hall supported by the Sussex Learning Disability Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise (VSCE) CEO Group.
We came together with other care providers and advocates – including Southdown, Speak Out, Stay Up Late, Carousel and more – to ask Brighton & Hove City Council leaders to save social care by demanding urgent investment in the sector.
The event followed a similar one led by Aldingbourne Trust, alongside other friends and partners, at County Hall in Chichester on 29th January, where the same points were made to West Sussex County Council.
Eva Eriksson, Grace Eyre’s Chief Executive, said:
“It was inspiring to stand up for social care in Chichester last month, alongside colleagues, partners, friends and so many people directly supported by the sector, and make our voices heard. I’m proud to be standing side by side with them again to demand urgent and meaningful investment in social care from Brighton & Hove City Council.”
While Grace Eyre and the organisations that attended the event understand and sympathise with current pressures across the Council, it is crucial that adult social care is adequately supported.
Looking for savings in adult social care will put services and jobs in serious jeopardy.
Challenges Facing the Social Care Sector
Social care providers across Sussex, particularly those supporting individuals with learning disabilities, face mounting financial pressures that threaten the sustainability of essential services.
Key challenges include:
- National Insurance Increase: a 1.2% rise in employer contributions and a reduced threshold to £5,000 have significantly impacted payroll costs in a sector heavily reliant on low-wage, part-time staff.
- National Living Wage (NLW) Increase: a 6.7% rise in the National Living Wage, while beneficial to workers, has placed additional pressure on budgets. Many organisations strive to pay the Real Living Wage, which has increased by 60p per hour, exacerbating financial strain.
- Contract and Provider Viability: multi-year contracts without annual inflationary adjustments are putting services at risk.
These issues have caused staffing costs to rise dramatically, alongside inflationary pressures on utilities and supplies.
Eva Eriksson said:
“Without proper funding, individuals, families, and communities will suffer. As we know very well at Grace Eyre, through the range of support we provide for people with a learning disability, autistic people and others, social care saves lives. But it needs proper and adequate financial investment and this year, to keep up with rising costs, we need at least 8%. We are urgently appealing to both our local and national governments to make sure the sector gets this now.”
Urgent Fee Uplifts Needed
The Sussex Learning Disability VCSE CEO Group consists of eight voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations, including Grace Eyre.
The Group is urging local authorities to implement a minimum 8% fee uplift for learning disability services in the 2025/26 financial year to:
- maintain adequate staffing level and current service provision
- attract and retain skilled professionals with competitive wage
- preserve the quality of care and support for individuals with learning disabilities
Neil Blanchard, Southdown’s Chief Executive and Chair of the Sussex Learning Disability VCSE CEO Group, said:
“Having started my own career as a learning disability support worker, I know firsthand how invaluable social care support is. Services already operate at the margins, and inadequate funding threatens the sustainability of the homes and support for individuals with learning disabilities.”
“The role of our organisations is not to subsidise services that the local authority has a duty of care to provide and they’re contracting us to provide. That’s why we’re campaigning for an appropriate fee uplift in light of the significant financial pressures facing our sector.”
We know that Brighton & Hove City Council’s draft budget states that there will be cuts of £9 million in adult social care, which the sector just can’t sustain. However, Brighton & Hove City Council have also received £71 million of central funding to manage the changes to National Insurance payments, we ask them to make sure they pass this on to their providers.
Investing in social care is an investment for everybody.