Labour delivered their first budget on 31^st October, and it has since had people talking, and not for the right reasons. I have put together some of the key changes, and some practical steps you can take to ensure you are ahead of the pending changes.

Here are the key points that will impact social care:

• Local government will receive funding worth at least £600m for social care. Sadly, this was overlooked in comparison to the £22.6bn the NHS will receive for their day-to-day operations, and the £3.1bn investment in its capital budget for facilities and equipment.
• National insurance (NI) contributions for employers (not employees) will increase by 1.2 percentage points to 15% from April 2025.
• Employers to now pay national insurance from £5,000 (previous £9,100)
• The minimum wage will increase as follows:
  

  	National Minimum Wage	Increase (£)	Increase (%)
  21 and over	£12.21	£0.77	6.7
  18-20 year old rate	£10.00	£1.40	16.3
  16-17 year old rate	£7.55	£1.15	18
  Apprentice rate	£7.55	£1.15	18

• The London Living Wage will rise to £13.85.
• Changes to how unpaid carers can claim carers allowance.

These are substantial changes and with employment costs being the significant part of most expenses and many providers being built on the back of lower pay, this will impact social care. We need to do all we can to get ahead, and here are some things you can do between now and April 1^st.

1. Review your current budgets whilst ensuring you put in the new rates of pay for staff to see how different your budgets will look in terms of income vs expenditure.
2. Once you have reviewed your budget, you can then begin to look at where you can make savings, including:
   (a) Can you make staffing cuts?
   (b) Reviewing supplier costs, negotiating reductions, shopping around etc.
3. Review your charge rates, regardless of whether you have private or local authority individuals in your care. It will come as no shock to anyone that prices will be increasing due to the government budget, and it wont just be you, all stores and services will be increasing costs, so it will not be unexpected.
4. Many local authorities will not have a plan, and if you know things are going to be tight or you will not survive the changes, think about whether you need to give notice and move to more private individuals. This is a decision that will not come easy, and one I do not like to suggest but if it means being viable or closing, then something that must be considered.
5. Look into how you can streamline processes and implement digital solutions to automate tasks. This could aid in reducing costs elsewhere. Here are some suggestions:
   (a) If you are paper based, can you utilise government funding for electronic care planning.
   (b) Digital solutions such as Audit On Cloud by InvictIQ can support with electronic auditing and feedback management which can help reduce the cost of paper, time and staffing.
   (c) Acoustic monitoring.
   (d) Artificial Intelligence to help with inventory management, administrative tasks etc.
   (e) Home Care –  rostering efficiency to reduce mileage and maximise visits.
6. Consider how you could diversify your business to bring in extra income or reduce costs.
7. Incorporate sustainable practices to reduce costs (and environmental impact).
8. Seek financial support from your bank and/or insurance company as they may be able to offer you further guidance and support.
9. Network with other providers, your local care associations etc and see what other providers are doing. Also remember to keep abreast of what professionals are advising, both within social care and externally.
10. Sign this petition calling for government to exempt all social care providers from the employer national insurance contribution increase – www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700080

Remember to take care of your mental health. this is going to be a challenging time for everyone. There is likely to be many conversations that are not easy, rocks that we do not necessarily want to look for solutions and still much more detail to come from Labour. We have time on our side to begin looking at solutions, thinking outside of the box and planning ahead of the changes due in April.