East Lancs elderly could be left in financial black hole

[annie]

EAST Lancashire’s pensioners could be left with no-one to care for them unless urgent action is taken to fill a financial black hole, it was claimed.

Private companies have joined a campaign to highlight the effects of implementing a new National Living Wage.

Andrew Key, managing director of Choice Care, based at Blackburn Enterprise Centre in Furthergate, is one of the signatures of a letter sent to George Osborne, who pushed up what is essentially a new Minimum Wage in last month’s budget.




The United Kingdom Homecare Association calls for more funding from the Government, including changing VAT status from “welfare services” to “zero rated”, and offering tax incentives to people who have too much money to qualify for state-funded social care.

The letter says: “Without urgent action from Government and local councils to address the deficit in funding, continued supply of state-funded homecare will become unviable at a time when Government looks to social care services to support an over-stretched NHS, particularly supporting people to leave hospital promptly.

“Market exit by providers would cause considerable distress for people who use homecare services and their families; create a significant burden for local councils who would have to find replacement providers and provide uncertain employment prospects for trained and committed careworkers.”

Mr Key said his firm will struggle to pay its homecare workers the £7.20-an-hour rate.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/ne ... lack_hole/

[Honey]

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[wendy]

thank you, I have put this on our front page and in the newspaper.