Nicola Richards and Leroy Young of Sheffield Care Association speak to Local Democracy Reporter Julia Armstrong about their fears for the future of care homes and social care following the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions
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00:00So I'm talking to Leroy Young and Nicola Richards from Sheffield Care Association and obviously things are very worrying for businesses like the ones in your association at the moment because of the national insurance employers contributions being brought in.
00:17So what are your worries about that and what are you hoping that Sheffield Council will help you to do?
00:23I think we've been talking about social care for decades to be honest but we've got a really good relationship with Sheffield City Council.
00:32We're sympathetic to the challenges that the councils locally and nationally across the country are facing at the moment.
00:38What we want, we want local and national elected members to support and value social care in their own community and represent the citizens that we support.
00:49For me it's about coming together at a time that's absolutely desperate and supporting the people who need us most.
00:57I think what I'd like to see is councils locally and nationally coming together with their associations, putting pressure on government to absolutely value the people that need that support.
01:09And it's long overdue and they really need to value social care in its entirety across the country.
01:15That's what I would like to see is doing the job for the people that deserve it most.
01:20What about you, Leroy?
01:21I think I'd echo all that, what Nicola just said.
01:24I think it's time for the council, for the officers, for the people working in council to be brave and to make some choices.
01:32And really push back on government to support the sector properly.
01:35It's been going on for a long time.
01:37You know, the sector's in real trouble.
01:39The employers NI has made it the most difficult year that it's ever going to be.
01:43And I just don't think people have fully understood the impact that's going to have on care homes, on the families, on the staff, the residents, families, you know, and all the supply chains that we use.
01:54Like a cascade effect.
01:56You know, now's the time to do something about it.
01:58I think if we do it, if we wait any longer, it'll be too late.
02:01Are you worried that homes will close in Sheffield or providers will close?
02:04I think myself and Leroy speak from experience.
02:09I went through a devastating time in COVID.
02:11I had to close a 60-bed care home in Sheffield.
02:15I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
02:17It was just, gosh, it was just horrendous, horrendous.
02:22Leroy had to close a home.
02:24And both of us speak from the heart that it was down to viability.
02:30We support the most vulnerable people.
02:32A lot of people are relying on state funding.
02:35So our services absolutely need to be protected.
02:38And, yes, we're hearing at a national level that care homes and care providers in the community,
02:46they're desperate in how they're going to see this through because we've not seen the real impact of this yet.
02:52But it's coming.
02:53It will be a tsunami, a tsunami effect.
02:56And we work really close with the NHS.
03:01You know, we do a fantastic working together.
03:04But for me, I feel if care providers do fail, that will put even more pressure on the NHS.
03:10So I think we've got to value social care and fund the sector properly and serve the people who, as I've said, you know, the people who need it most.
03:19They're the people who've paid taxes all their life.
03:22They're the people who deserve this care.
03:24And we will fail them.
03:26The system, the government will fail them.
03:28So they've got, we're not saying this in isolation.
03:30It's not just myself and Leroy.
03:32The country, the whole, you know, there's care providers nationally, associations saying this.
03:37I don't know why they choose to ignore it, but for some reason they are doing.