11th April 2020

PRESS RELEASE: Call to remove VAT from social care essential items

National Care Association is becoming increasingly concerned about the fragility of the social care sector as providers struggle to support some of the most vulnerable members of our society. In an effort to keep the people we care for safe and well we are reliant on the incredible dedication and commitment of our workforce.

We welcome the recent focus on the challenges faced by the sector with access to PPE being one of the most frequently raised issue. We are therefore, today calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make additional provisions available for Social Care. The financial packages announced thus far will do little to support the financial stability of the sector which needs to remain sustainable and fit for the future. National Care Association is now calling for immediate support for care providers to ensure they can continue to deliver the care needed.

Nadra Ahmed OBE, Executive Chairman of National Care Association said:

The Treasury must remove VAT from all essential items used in social care services immediately, which includes PPE: it should be noted that he did this very early on for the NHS. This is equipment which is being sold at inflated prices to care providers who have no choice but to pay over 400% more for items when they can get them; clearly the financial impact of the spend on these item will affect cashflow for providers. This is an unsustainable position to put providers in and can be remedied today should the Chancellor will it. Additionally, the Chancellor must consider removing VAT on the sector completely. We can see from the response by the sector to this pandemic that we are an essential service for some of the frailest and most vulnerable members of our society so taxing us for a public service is not acceptable.

We have to keep our amazing staff and the people we care for safe and well and in order to this we must have parity with colleagues doing the same job."

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