Today, staff from Independent Lives joined fellow voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) learning disability providers, care workers, and people who use social care services outside Chichester County Hall to demand an appropriate fee uplift in the face of rising costs and financial pressures on the sector.
The demonstration, organised by the Sussex Learning Disability VCSE CEO Group, calls on West Sussex County Council (WSCC) to provide a minimum 8% fee uplift for 2025/26, ensuring that learning disability services remain sustainable. Current WSCC proposals indicate only a 5.3% average uplift, far below what is needed to keep up with the rising costs of care provision.
A key concern is the failure to account for the increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which alone will cost providers like Independent Lives over £65,000. Combined with the 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage and inflation at around 2%, the proposed uplift falls dangerously short, placing essential services at risk.
“Care services are already operating at the margins, and this inadequate funding threatens the future of vital support for disabled people,”
said Rebecca Smicle, Chief Executive at Independent Lives.
“Without proper investment, services will become unsustainable, directly impacting the lives of those who rely on them.”
Independent Lives has a long history of supporting disabled people, providing essential services that enable choice, control, and independence. Our recent cost of living research has highlighted the stark choices disabled people are being forced to make as financial pressures intensify. Many of those we support are facing impossible decisions, with one person telling us:
“Other people have to choose between heating and eating. We’re having to choose between heating, eating and care.”
The continued underfunding of social care means that disabled people risk losing the vital support that enables them to live independently. Without urgent action, many will be left isolated and without the care they need.
Independent Lives stands alongside Southdown, Aldingbourne Trust, The Grace Eyre Foundation, Active Prospects UK, Guild Care, Ferring Country Centre, and other organisations in calling for urgent action to safeguard the future of social care. This is not just about funding, it is about dignity, independence, and the right to a life of choice and control. Without urgent investment, these rights are at risk.
