Social care workforce funding halved for England, government confirms

Funding promised to develop the social care workforce in England has been halved, the government has confirmed.

In 2021 the government pledged "at least" £500 million for reforms, to be spent on training places and technology over three years.

But that figure is now £250 million, according to the Department of Health.

A coalition of charities said this cut is "just the latest in a long series of disappointments" over social care.

The government said its reforms would give care "the status it deserves" but some organisations in the sector say they fall short of what is needed.

Caroline Abrahams, co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance - which represents more than 70 charities - and charity director of Age UK, said the measures "aren't remotely enough to transform social care".

Millions of older and disabled people and their carers "needed something far bigger, bolder and more genuinely strategic to give them hope for the future", she said.

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Source: BBC News, 4 April 2023