Jewish Care says the Reeves budget will cost the charity an extra £1.1m a year
CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown says the charity needs to turn to the community to raise £20m before the end of this financial year 'to avoid difficult choices'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Jewish Care has said the government’s recent budget will cost the charity an additional £1.1million annually.
In a further response to tax-raising measures announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves, Jewish Care’s CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown said a 1.2% rise in employers’ National Insurance increases the organisation’s wage bill by £400,000.
While the additional lowering of the threshold to £5,000 adds another £700,000, bring the total cost to £1.1million.
Carmel-Brown said Jewish Care would now need to turn to the community to raise £20 million before the end of this financial year, “to continue doing all that we do today, and to avoid having to make some difficult choices. ”
In a message the charity said was supported by life president Lord Levy, president, Steven Lewis, and chair Marcus Sperber, Carmel-Brown, said: “Having worked in social care for 30 years, I’ve been disappointed by successive governments’ failure to reform social care. However, these latest decisions actively harm the sector.
“Jewish Care has a workforce of 1,300 dedicated staff, most of whom deliver frontline care and vital services. The 1.2% rise in employers’ NI will increase our wage bill by £400,000. We had planned for this, however the additional lowering of the threshold to £5,000 adds another £700,000. Organisations like ours, with a high proportion of part-time frontline staff, are disproportionately impacted.
“Unlike commercial businesses, we cannot pass these costs onto residents funded by local authorities, which remain financially stretched. Budget allocations for social care will not reach frontline providers like us due to the fragility of local authority funding. These changes will cost Jewish Care an additional £1.1 million annually.
“Jewish Care, alongside frontline providers and community charities is making our concerns known to the Government and anyone who will listen. We are particularly alarmed by the decision to exempt the NHS and public bodies from the National Insurance (NI) increases while expecting care providers and not-for-profit organisations to bear the cost.
“We have written to MPs and to the Treasury and we are working with Care England, the National Care Forum and communal organisations to communicate a strong message to the Government. Addressing NHS challenges without resolving the growing crisis in social care, while increasing costs for providers, is unsustainable and has serious repercussions.”
Ahead of the budget many charities had called for the government to exempt them from NI rises.
The government would point to the extra £600m ploughed into social care services in government grant funding next year, announced by the chancellor in the budget.
The package was part of a settlement for local authorities in England that will see their available budgets rise by an estimated 3.2% in real terms in 2025-26, compared with this year.
The government also pledged over £250m to test new ways of working in children’s social care next year, including the pre-announced £44m to trial allowances for kinship carers and roll out regional hubs to support the recruitment of foster carers.
But Jewish Care’s CEO added: “We must raise £20 million this year to sustain its current services and avoid difficult decisions,” continues the CEO.
“We are working tirelessly to manage costs and maintain sustainability.
“We will need the support of the community to help us to raise £20 million before the end of this financial year, to continue doing all that we do today, and to avoid having to make some difficult choices. We are confident that, with their continued support, we will rise to the challenges ahead.”
Other communal charities to voice concerns about the implications of the budget included the United Synagogue and Norwood.
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