The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed a 3.9 per cent increase to Pension Credit rates from April 2027, with 1.4 million claimants set to benefit. Single claimants will receive £247.30 a week, while couples will get £377.40 a week.
The new rates represent a rise from £238 for single people and £363.25 for couples. The increase forms part of the DWP's commitment to maintain the triple lock until 2030, when it will be reviewed. State pensioners will also receive a 3.9 per cent boost to their basic and full state pensions next April.
Homecare sector responds to Budget measures
Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, welcomed measures to make life fairer for unpaid carers and help working people with the cost of living, but stressed that the Government cannot overlook the essential role of homecare if it is serious about improving health and care.
Townson welcomed the Government's commitment to personal care free at the point of use, which she said would benefit many of the older and disabled people that Homecare Association members support at home. However, she noted that the policy is to be funded from savings on a Triple Lock adjustment that does not begin until April 2030, and that the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care will not now report until 2027.
Funding gap concerns for homecare services
Townson said free personal care can only succeed if it is built on a stable homecare market that is paid the true cost of the care it delivers. She highlighted that Homecare Association members support almost 1.5 million older and disabled people, helping them live independently at home, supporting families to remain in work and enabling people to leave hospital when they are ready.
She stated that the funding available for publicly commissioned homecare continues to fall short of the cost of sustainable care. The Budget provides £190 million for NHS winter pressures, but no equivalent support for homecare services that help people leave hospital safely.
Homecare Association research estimates that England needs an additional £2.3 billion across councils and the NHS to enable homecare workers to receive at least the statutory minimum wage while ensuring that services are financially sustainable. Sixty-one per cent of homecare contracts in England pay less than £26.17 per hour, the amount needed to cover the direct employment costs of a careworker paid at the statutory minimum wage, before other operating costs. The Minimum Price for Homecare, which also covers those operating costs, is £34.42 per hour.
Townson noted that the Government's announced 3.9 per cent increase in the National Living Wage, to £13.21 an hour from April 2027, will add further pressure unless the Government funds councils and the NHS to raise fee rates in line with rising employment costs, and commissioners pass that funding on in full. Without action to address this funding gap, she said, the sector will struggle to deliver the quality, capacity and workforce stability that people and communities need, and homecare needs sustainable funding now.
