Working in social care can be a hugely rewarding job, and it was a delight to meet some of the staff and residents at the Quiet Waters residence in West Horndon last week.
Quiet Waters, part of the Voyage Care group, provides full time supported living for young adults with learning disabilities. It was very clear when I visited that it’s a place where all those living there are encouraged to be independent and live their own lives as much as possible, with care and support in place to help them make good choices. I understand the Quiet Waters residents are well-known in West Horndon and are included and embraced by the local community, which is a lovely thing to hear about a village.
Managers Anna, John and Heidi were keen to highlight how important social care is within the community, especially when health care and hospitals tend to get the lion’s share of attention for patient care, especially at this time of year when hospital wards are full and more people are needing hospital care.
In the last Parliament, reforms were started to bolster the social care workforce, which included substantial investment in a new care workforce pathway, a new level 2 qualification, investment in apprenticeships and funding to pay for thousands of learning and development courses for social care staff.
In the short term, the announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget to increase Employer National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage will have a substantial impact on social care providers. Indeed, some providers have stated that the £600 million funding allocated for adult social care in the Autumn Budget will be absorbed by these rising costs of employing staff.
I call on the Government to reconsider these measures, so that social care providers do not face additional financial pressures that will affect their ability to recruit and retain staff who are as inspiring and dedicated as those at Quiet Waters.
