Partners in Care

Partners in Care, in collaboration with Shropshire Council, has today expressed significant concerns regarding the recent government announcements on the rise in employers National Insurance (NI) Contributions to care providers set to take effect in April 2025. Partners in Care and the council have highlighted the potentially detrimental impact these changes will have on the recruitment and retention of carers not only within the local adult social care sector but children’s services too. Both organisations are urging the government to review the culminative effect of the recent Budget on social care and ease the pressure on providers and council finances. Around 77% of Shropshire Council’s budget is spent on social care across both adults and children. Like with many councils across the UK, the council is under huge financial pressures having to make the most savings of any council in England per person – £191 for each person and says it will not be able to cover the gap. Stef Kay, Chair of Partners in Care’s Board of Directors, said: “Partners in Care is deeply concerned over the financial impact on the adult social care sector in Shropshire of the announcements made by the Government in its Autumn budget in October 2024.” “The increase in the National Living Wage and changes to employers National Insurance Contributions from April 2025 will have a significant financial impact on care providers, the majority of whom are small local companies employing local people, supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our local communities.” “Unless care providers receive an exemption to the employers National Insurance Contribution changes, or adequate financial support from the Government to meet these additional costs, we will almost certainly see care providers having to reduce their staffing levels which will impact on the quality of care they provide, and in the worst case scenario care providers deciding to exit the local market which will reduce the availability of care with knock-on effects on our local healthcare services including our local hospitals and A&E’s.” You can read the full joint statement on our website - link in 'Comments' below. 👇

Are you an adult social care provider wanting clarification of the current guidance regarding records management? Digital Care Hub have produced a shortened version of the NHS Records Management Code of Practice. It is relevant to organisations working within, or under contract to, the NHS in England. The Code also applies to adult social care commissioned or delivered by local authorities. The Records Management Code of Practice provides guidance on how to keep records, including how long to keep different types of records. It replaces previous versions. This abbreviated code and guidance for adult social care providers is based on Records Management Code of Practice – A guide to the management of health and care records, published August 2021, last updated in December 2023. You can read the Abbreviated Code on the Digital Care Hub website via the link in 'Comments' below. 👇

It’s Friday 5th December....5 weeks since the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer announced to #socialcare alongside our colleagues in #hospices #GPs #pharmacies and many other essential public services the #budget24 numbers that have left us in shock. We will not fall silent....we need a solution now! Our strength lies in our shared commitment to safeguarding the future of adult care services and ensuring the voices of providers are heard at every level of government. 👏 👏 More than 1500 of us are standing together! Join with us and sign 👉 https://lnkd.in/dQJyifF9 #SaveSocialCare #ProvidersUnite  National Care Association The Care Provider Alliance National Care Forum Care England National Care Association Homecare Association Nadra Ahmed CBE DL 💚 Vic Rayner Jane Townson OBE VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group) Lincolnshire Care Association Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Katrina Hall Raj Sehgal Geoffrey Cox

Our Chief Officer David Crosby was delighted to attend Cheshire College - South & West’s Hospital Ward launch event at their Ellesmere Port campus this afternoon. A great facility for health and social care students. We look forward to working with the College and other partners to ensure that the learning and development needs of local adult social care providers in South and West Cheshire are met. PS: it was great to meet Rose, the College’s virtual care home resident who is all set for Christmas with her tree up and decorated! 🎄🎅 #socialcare #furthereducation #learning #partnershipworking #cheshire

Partners in Care continues to grow! We are delighted to welcome Athena Homecare (https://lnkd.in/ebSy2Ndj) who are based in Donnington in Telford, who joined Partners in Care in November 2024. Partners in Care is a not-for-profit care association representing independent adult social care providers in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin and we are a member of the Care Association Alliance which represents care associations across England. We are now also able to support adult social care providers in Cheshire where there wasn’t previously a care association to represent their needs. If you are an adult social care provider in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin or Cheshire and aren't currently a Partners in Care member, please get in touch to find out more about the services and support we provide to our members - email us at info@partnersincare.org.uk or call us on 01743 860011 (9am-5pm Monday-Thursday / 9am-4.30pm Friday). You can apply for membership of Partners in Care online via our website - link in 'Comments' below.👇 The more care providers who join us as members, the stronger our voice in speaking on your behalf with the local authorities and the NHS Integrated Care Boards. #socialcare #shropshirebusiness #cheshirebusiness #partnershipworking #strongertogether

** Safeguarding Adults Week Webinar Recordings Now Available** Thank you to everyone who attended the Safeguarding Adults Week live events organised by Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership, Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership and Partners in Care to raise awareness of this subject in 2024. Over the week we addressed: ➡️ Exploitation; ➡️ Establishing Professional Boundaries; ➡️ Reducing inappropriate medication for people within the Learning Disability and/or Autism Community; ➡️ Learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews and Domestic Homicide Reviews; and ➡️ Responding to Hoarding. As well as a face-to-face event in Telford Town Centre with partner agencies. You can now access the webinar recordings amd other resources from the week via the links in 'Comments' below. 👇

**International Recruitment Live Webinar – The Rollout of e-Visas and What They Mean for Care Providers** 📅 Date: Thursday 5 December 2024 ⏲️ Time: 11:00am - 12:15pm West Midlands Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and West Midlands Employers are holding a live legal webinar on Thursday 5 December 2024 which will focus on preparing care providers for the rollout of e-Visas. Edward O’Brien, Senior Associate at Law Firm Lester Aldridge, will discuss the impact on evidencing Right to Work and provide a general overview of Right to Work responsibilities. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session. Please sign up to attend the webinar for the link - 'Comments' below. 👇

Today’s report published by the Nuffield Trust lays bare the scale of the crisis facing adult social care providers following the Chancellor’s Budget.    Changes to National Insurance Contributions and planned increases to National Minimum Wage rates add up to increased costs for the sector of around £2.8bn in the next financial year.    This puts many providers at risk of closure and threatens the collapse of the entire sector.    Although the NHS and local councils are protected from the rise in employers’ NICs, charitable and private providers of state-funded care services are not.    The Care Association Alliance urges the government in the strongest possible terms to introduce exemptions for the adult social care sector to prevent a catastrophe for older people across the UK who rely on the private care sector to look after them. Melanie Weatherley MBE and Eddy M., Co-Chairs.   https://lnkd.in/e5vWj-q6   

A reminder that the Care Association Alliance, of which Partners in Care is a member, has shared a link to a Petition calling on the Government to exempt social care providers from the changes to employers National Insurance (NI) contributions from April 2025 - see below. Please sign if you agree! If you follow the link to the petition and click on 'Show on a map' you'll see that here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin we are well above average for the number of signatories to the petition by local authority area across England which is great. Thank you to all of our members who have already signed. 🙏 The changes to employers NI contributions from April 2025 announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, in Parliament on 30 October 2024 as part of the Government’s Autumn Budget represent a seismic financial threat to adult social care providers. If you are an adult social care provider in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin or Cheshire and aren’t currently a member of Partners in Care, please sign up as a member so that we can represent your interests in our discussions with our local authority partners on fee rate uplifts for 2025/26. Sign up via the link in ‘Comments’ below. 👇 The more members we have, the stronger our voice in discussions with the local authorities. 👊 #socialcare #partnership #shropshire #telford #cheshire #strongertogether

Enjoy 15% off branded garments with MyWorkwear. Whether you’re looking for scrubs and tabards or polos and coats, the MyWorkwear team have got you covered. As a valued Partners in Care member, you can take advantage of a special 15% discount on both personalised and non-personalised items. Simply contact us via info@partnersincare.org.uk for your exclusive discount code that you can use at www.myworkwear.co.uk, or call their friendly team at 01952 585881 to place your order. If you are an adult social care provider in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin or Cheshire and aren't currently a member of Partners in Care, sign up via our website here: https://lnkd.in/dFWREqxq.