An extra £12bn a year will do nothing to fix the mess of England’s privatised care system – but it will benefit big providers
- Allyson Pollock is clinical professor of public health at Newcastle University
The government’s health and social care levy bill is being rushed through parliament today, in one day and with minimal parliamentary scrutiny. The bill would create a new tax to generate additional funding of around £12bn a year for health and social care, but does nothing to address the mess of England’s privatised care system and its fundamental weaknesses. Put simply, the bill is just a massive bailout for multinational care companies.
Social services for community and long-stay care in the UK are among the most privatised and fragmented in the western world – even more so than in the US. Local authorities in England commission most of their care services from private providers, of which there are 14,800 registered organisations providing care across 25,800 locations. This situation arose as local authorities, facing budget shortages and central government-imposed regulatory and financial incentives, sold off their care homes and turned to outsourcing. Scotland and the other devolved administrations face similar structural issues.
