WMCA Weekly Newsletter

WMCA News • November 3, 2022

West Midlands Care Association Members Newsletter- 3rd November

Newsletter

3 November 2022

WMCA Updates

Utilities Costs Survey

We are all very aware of the escalating costs of utilities. However it has come to our attention that the Government support scheme is not as helpful as we would have liked. Costs per kilowatt hour are not capped, the scheme will only make a contribution. Given the current market prices of over £1/KwH many providers whose contracts are coming up for renewal are still experiencing massive increases in electricty and gas costs despite the support of the scheme. We believe local commissioners don't appreciate the scale of this problem and the threat to the sustainability of the sector it implies

We have put together a very brief anonymous survey which we would appreciate you completing. We are trying to get a picture of when contracts are due to renewal and the potential increases that may ensue

It will only take a few minutes to complete

Survey

WMCA to attend 19-24 careers fair!

We are exhibitng at local jobs fair at The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton on Tuesday 8 November, promoting the job vacancies that have been posted on our Proud to Care website to 19-24 year olds, interested in a career in care.

Through our council funded Jobmatch program, we are also offering one-to-one support to job seekers, in an attempt to match them to a vacancy.

Not only this, but our team will also vet CVs for you, so p lease don't forget to take advantage of this platform by posting your job vacancies for FREE on our Proud to Care website ( Employers Hub tab - password WMCA 2018)

You can send your job vacancies over to our team at jobmatch@wmca.care too!

Autumn Conference recording

Our Autumn Virtual Conference took place yesterday and we had a fantastic turnout from providers!

You can access the recording of the event here, as well as all the materials presented on the day.

Also, a reminder of our upcoming events that we discussed during the conference:

Wednesday 30 November

10:00am - 12:00pm

Eastside rooms,

2 Woodcock Street,

Birmingham

B7 4BL

Co-Host Seminar with Citation

Mick Feather presents 'How to ensure you're meeting Quality Assurance standards and your CQC inspection won't drop to 'Requires Improvement'

Book here

Only for proivders in Wolverhampton and Solihull:

Thursday 24 November

11:00am - 12:00pm

How can Job Match help you to recruit and retain the right staff for FREE?

Book here

Wednesday 14 December

10:00am - 2:00pm

WMCA Adult Social Care Careers Fair,

The Village Hotel,

Castlegate Drive,

Dudley,

DY1 4TB

Email enquiries@wmca.care to express an interest in advertising your vacancies and careers

***Government Updates***

Ministerial Reshuffle and the impact on adult social care

The new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has now spent his first week in post and has begun reshuffling his team.

This has seen a return of Steve Barclay as as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, while the former minister care, Helen Whately has returned to DHSC alongside Neil O'Brien.

Helen Whately seems to have been given the care brief.

There has also been a great deal of speculation regarding what the Chancellor and PM will announce in terms of public spending and tax over the upcoming weeks. The fiscal statement has now been delayed until 17 November 2022 and will now be a full Autumn statement, accompanied by the Office for Budget Responsibility Forecast.

The Times is reporting this morning that public sector workers face a 2% pay rise (effectively a real terms pay cut) to balance the books, while The Telegraph and Guardian both report that the Treasury is planning years of tax rises by increasing income tax and National Insurance over the coming years by freezing the thresholds at which people start to pay different rates.

They also report that the Chancellor is looking to implement an equal split of 50% tax rises and 50% spending cuts.

What this all means for adult social care is obviously very concerning.

Public spending cuts to adult social care would be disastrous, especially given current pressure on the NHS and the looming winter pressures. Equally, failing to increase public spending on adult social care in line with rising costs and ignoring the urgent need to inject funding into the workforce should be unthinkable.

Health and Social Care Workers Winter Vaccinations 2022

In a new campaign , the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has urged frontline staff to have their COVID-19 boosters and flu jabs if they haven’t done so already. Around two million people in the UK are currently experiencing long COVID and it’s important that health and social care workers book their appointments and keep themselves, their colleagues and those they care, for safe, well and protected as winter approaches.

Useful resources including posters are available for free to help you spread the word and remind your teams this winter. See the resource

Made with Care campaign re-starts

The Made with Care government campaign for recruitment into adult social care roles is being re-launched this week. in what is its next phase.

From 2nd November , the TV advert will recommence on ITV Hub, Sky Go and All 4 apps . Alongside this, the campaign imagery will appear on Reed and Total Jobs websites, while the website will appear on top of Google search results when people look up relevant topics for care.

A national and trade press release will also be launched next week, which will ensure providers can access the resources being made available to support marketing of the campaign.

Report on Exempt Accomodation

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has published its report into exempt accommodation today.

The Committee’s report recommends that the Government:

Introduce compulsory national minimum standards for exempt accommodation, including on referrals, care & support, and quality of housing
Give local councils the powers and resources to enforce these standards
Require all exempt accommodation providers to be registered
Create a National Oversight Committee to join-up existing regulators and mend the current ‘patchwork regulation’ which has too many holes
Ensure the providers of exempt accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse have recognised expertise to provide specialist support and a safe environment
Review the system of exempt housing benefit claims and clamp down on the exploitation of the lease-based exempt accommodation model for profit