- Conference
- 2024 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the ongoing crisis in adult social care across the UK and is deeply concerned about the deteriorating state of the sector.
Conference asserts that a toxic combination of years of chronic underfunding and an under-regulated, deeply fragmented market system are responsible for producing this prolonged crisis in the sector.
Conference notes with alarm that evidence of this crisis can be seen in the fact that hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people are not receiving the levels of support they need, while extractive providers continue to bleed profits from the system.
Conference notes that the crisis is also evident in the continued mistreatment of the care workforce: employment in the sector is frequently insecure and largely underpaid, often illegally so; while proper sick pay remains elusive for thousands of care workers, along with decent training and progression opportunities.
Conference is particularly concerned at the targeting of migrant workers, both in terms of the impact this will have on these workers and their families, but also the damage it will do to our health and care services, which depend on migrant workers for their survival.
Conference is unsurprised that vacancies in social care are still above 150,000 in England alone, with more than a quarter of the workforce leaving their jobs every year. There are also huge numbers of NHS vacancies and, although the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (for England) was finally published in 2023, it does not include social care and the chances of the NHS being able to implement it with such restricted funding are limited.
Conference notes that despite adult social care contributing more than £50bn to the UK economy, it continues to be seen purely as a burden on the government purse rather than a vital part of boosting growth. Conference therefore endorses UNISON’s campaigns to highlight the importance of social care and boost its standing.
Conference believes the answer to the challenges facing social care is a National Care Service. The NHS remains one of the UK’s most cherished institutions and Conference welcomes the union’s campaigning for a national care service that would bring social care closer to parity with related services in healthcare, going beyond the short-term and piecemeal solutions repeatedly offered up by Westminster governments.
Conference believes we can only secure the future of social care through a long term plan which would prevent new contracts being given to care providers who do not meet high standards.
Conference believes that will require a workforce well prepared for the care needs of today and the future. The establishment of a Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care in England, empowering social care trade unions to negotiate fair pay, terms, conditions, staff benefits, and training, would be a critical first step.
Conference further believes that care providers should be forced to demonstrate financial sustainability and responsible tax practices, value their staff, ensure all social care workers are paid fairly for what they do and deliver high quality care for service users.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to continue campaigning for the creation of a National Care Service based on these values which would benefit every family in the country, prioritising the social care workforce and rewarding them for their work.
Conference notes that UNISON campaigning has had to take different forms in the different UK nations.
For instance, Conference notes that the Scottish government have announced their support for a National Care Service but put forward legislation that will not deliver a national care service worthy of the name and notes that the union has had to campaign against this deeply flawed version of a national care service. Conference notes that this work succeeded in bringing about a pause in the proposed legislation, as well as leading to controversial plans to remove statutory duties from local authorities being scrapped.
Conference further notes “Towards a Real National Care Service” the report by Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) sponsored by UNISON Scotland. This report builds on a previous APSE report commissioned by UNISON Cymru/Wales and outlines a model of a national care service that is not for profit and summarises the case for the direct public delivery of social care and sets out the initial steps we can take towards this. It shows why direct public service delivery is both affordable and necessary and aims to begin a serious conversation about a UK national strategy for achieving this.
And Conference welcomes the fact that in Cymru/Wales work is progressing with the Welsh government on proposals for a pay and progression framework for the workforce, and that in December 2023 an initial implementation plan for a national care and support service was published.
Conference also congratulates the union for its “Let’s Make Care Work” campaign for a national care service in England.
Conference is particularly encouraged by the Fabian Society’s “Support Guaranteed” report, funded by UNISON’s Campaign Fund, that seeks to lay out the detail and building blocks for a national care service.
The report outlines the need for immediate action in areas such as the workforce but also a longer-term process to build sustainable change, moving away from the current market system.
Conference also endorses the proposed launch date contained within this report for a National Care Service of 5 July 2028 (the 80th anniversary of the launch of the NHS).
Conference notes that the report has already been influential and that its principles have been accepted by the Labour party. However, the need for a National Care Service must be a priority and not delayed until at least a second future Parliament.
Furthermore, Conference is alarmed at the worsening state of the NHS over the past year, with ever lengthening waiting lists, widening health inequalities and an increase in reports of patients coming to harm.
Conference reiterates its policy from National Delegate Conference 2023 that the NHS model must be supported but that there needs to be a change away from underfunding and privatisation. And that, during an election year, these demands need to be raised louder and bolder, including with the regional and national activities outlined in motions at National Delegate Conference 2023.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to demand proper funding increases for adult social care and the NHS across the UK;
2) Intensify the union’s campaigning against the use of profit driven providers and private equity companies in social care;
3) Highlight the importance of the care sector to the UK as a potential driver of economic growth;
4) Campaign for a credible workforce strategy, and an end to the exploitation of social care staff and the targeting of migrant workers;
5) Continue to work with other organisations in the sector who are also demanding change;
6) Continue to make the case, with governments and opposition parties across the UK, for UNISON’s version of a national care service;
7) Intensify the union’s campaigning for a national care service to be created within five years as part of UNISON’s wider general election work;
8) Promote and embed the principles of the APSE report “Towards A Real National Care Service” and the UNISON commissioned Fabian Society report ‘Support Guaranteed’ as a starting point for further work in developing a model for the sort of national care service that we can support and the country needs throughout UNISON;
9) Work with devolved nations, service groups, self organised groups and other like-minded stakeholders to design a vision of the National Care Service we want to see. This should be underpinned by the following principles:
a) Social care should be fully funded, universal and free at the point of delivery;
b) Social care should be delivered by democratically elected councils and there should be proper investment to develop social care to a high standard;
c) There should be sectoral bargaining across social care;
d) For profit providers should have no place in a national care service;
e) Fair work, decent pay and improved status should be the norm for all care workers;
10) Call on Labour Link to promote this vision within the Labour party in the UK and the devolved nations and seek their support to take it forward in UK Parliaments and to implement it when in power;
11) Campaign for all future National Care Service workers to be employed on public sector contracts with access to public sector pensions;
12) Work with Labour Link to restate UNISON’s opposition to market mechanisms and the need to prioritise the rebuilding of the NHS rather than an expansion in use of the private sector, as well as restating the union’s call for vastly increased funding.