Audit Commission report peddling dangerous myth - UNISON

A report from the Audit Commission that suggests councils can save money on care assessments by replacing qualified social workers with non-qualified staff is peddling a dangerous myth which will damage care standards and lead to longer term costs, UNISON warned today.

The report, which also promotes ‘reviewing’ of pay levels as a method of cutting council costs, says that the biggest cost in providing social care assessments is paying professionally qualified staff. UNISON says that reducing the use of these professionals is tantamount to providing essential social care on the cheap.

Using non-professional staff to carry out work for which they are not trained places inappropriate pressure on them, and places the vulnerable people they care for at inexcusable risk. The complexity of adult care needs is ever increasing – dementia, drug addiction, mental health conditions, vulnerability to abuse and knock-on effects on children and families – and all these need the highest possible levels of skills and qualifications to get assessments and care plans right first time.

Helga Pile, UNISON national officer for social care said:

“This is something we’ve been long concerned about in adult social work – providing social care on the cheap – and the Audit Commission’s report is yet more evidence of a flippant approach to care standards when it comes to vulnerable adults.

“The Government has said it values the professionalism of social workers in adult care –so we hope they will move quickly to challenge these dangerous myths.

“The recommendations in this report are too simplistic. They diminish the work of both the professionally-qualified social workers – of which there are already a shortage – and the support workers and social care assistants, who play a vital role in the care of vulnerable people and don’t want to be ‘social workers on the cheap’.

“UNISON cannot support recommendations that put pressure on staff to do a job for which they may not be properly trained, for no extra pay, and place the vulnerable people being cared for at risk. Social workers need to be leading this work alongside support workers but it is dangerous to think you can just replace them. The long-term consequences would be more unmet need at greater cost to crisis services and hospital admissions.”

In 2011 UNISON conducted a survey into the exploitation of social work assistants and support workers being used as social workers in an attempt to reduce costs. It found that two thirds of respondents were regularly given work with vulnerable children and adults that they don't feel qualified or experienced enough to do, only 25% said there were clear boundaries between their roles and that of social workers and 75% of support staff normally worked over and above their contracted week.
The 2011 survey can be found here: http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/stepping_into_the_breach_report.pdf

Rise in youth unemployment is fuelling a lost generation

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, is calling on the Government to take urgent, coordinated action to tackle the scandal of rising youth unemployment. “It is disgrace” said the union that the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England rose by 100,000 in the second quarter of the year.

Jon Richards, UNISON Head of Education said:

“It is a disgrace that so many of our young people are not in education, employment or training and this figure is rising. Youth unemployment should be one of the Government’s top priorities, instead they are creating a lost generation.

“The government is fuelling the problem and sacrificing young people’s futures by withdrawing access to decent careers guidance and gambling that schools will fill the gap, with no additional funding. Faced with a bleak jobs market, young people need a highly skilled, professional careers service now more than ever. But in many towns and cities across the country they will now find closed doors where their careers office used to be.

“We are urging the government to step up, provide sufficient resources, and help restore the high quality careers services that young people need to give them hope for the future.”

The union is warning that the number of NEETs is set to rise further as school and college leavers struggle to join the jobs market. Youth unemployment should be one of the government’s top priorities yet it’s response so far has been piecemeal and inconsistent, with responsibilities split across the Department of Education, BIS and DWP – and no-one with responsibility for the big picture.

At present no agency tracks or has responsibility for young people making the onwards transition from school. Compared to other northern European countries, young people in the UK are largely left to navigate the transition to work and responsible adulthood alone.

Across the country a damaging postcode lottery is also developing. In Birmingham - a city in the top 20 youth unemployment hotspots - the budget for careers services has fallen from £11m to £3.8m since 2010. More than two-thirds of the staff have lost their jobs and only one advice centre remains open. In six London boroughs - Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond, Croydon and Bromley - all the Connexions offices have been closed. In Hull the staffing levels of careers advisers has been reduced from 81 to 18.

Notes to Editors

1. The Education Act 2011 places a new statutory duty on schools to secure access to independent careers guidance for all pupils in years 9 to 11 from September 2012. This should include information on all the options available in 16-18 education and training, including apprenticeships, and should be impartial and independent, and this is defined as ‘provided by persons other than those employed at the school’. In-house provision must be complemented by external support, which includes face-to-face guidance but only for those whom schools alone decide need it.

2. Local Authorities, due to financial pressures, made massive cuts in careers services provision in both 2010/11 and 2011/12. Research in 2011 has shown that by July 2011 about 4,000 staff had been made redundant already and a further 4,000 were at risk over the next year. Advice centres and services have closed. This happened before the new careers service had been designed and before the implementation of the Education Act that transferred commissioning responsibility from Local authorities to schools from September 2012. In many cases this could contravene the current statutory minimum service levels expected.

3. Tens of thousands of young people effectively have no access to ‘face to face’ career guidance services and in some Local Authorities, no service is being provided at all. Current 14 -19 year old pupils will be the least informed about their future career options in a generation, at a time when the Government has radically changed the education and training environment by; abolishing the Education Maintenance Allowance and the Future Jobs Fund, raising HE tuition fees, reducing the number of HE / FE places For parents of children currently in Year 10 or Year 11:for the year 2011/12 career guidance services will be a geographical lottery. In some areas young people leaving compulsory education will have no access to independent, expert career guidance at all.

New UNISON research 'final nail in the coffin for regional pay'

New research commissioned by UNISON has found the government’s arguments for regional pay in the public sector to be ‘deeply flawed’ and based on a false premise.

The research, carried out by Incomes Data Services (IDS) on behalf of the union, puts paid to the government’s central argument for local and regional pay determination, the suggestion that national public sector pay scales ‘crowd out’ employment and investment by the private sector.

UNISON assistant general secretary Karen Jennings will be writing to MPs with a copy of the research setting out the arguments and urging them to show their support for national pay bargaining in the public sector.

On the report, UNISON assistant general secretary Karen Jennings said:

“This comprehensive report confirms what UNISON have said all along; the government’s ‘crowding out’ theory is deeply flawed and has no basis in fact. Now that the government’s premise on regional and local pay is shown to be false, we would urge them to stop this blatant attempt to drive down wages, disguised as encouraging growth.

“This research demonstrates that public sector employment doesn’t crowd out private sector investment, rather it complements it and supports the local population.

“It’s time for the government to stop attacking our vital public services, and instead concentrate on programmes of investment and job creation, not just in London and the South East, that will put money in people’s pockets and generate real growth in our struggling economy.”

The report, Crowding out: fact or fiction, makes five key points:

1. Public and private sector employers are not competing for the same workers

2. Crowding out theory cannot work when unemployment is high

3. Private sector pay does not vary hugely across regions

4. Private sector job creation and job losses appear to be completely unaffected by public sector pay

5. Public sector employment isn’t crowding out; it supports local population.

Energy price rise brings winter misery

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, has today condemned energy company SSE for imposing a massive 9% price hike, warning that doing so just before winter will plunge thousands of customers into fuel poverty.

Mike Jeram, UNISON Head of Business and Environment, said: “SSE are really letting their customers down by enforcing a price hike – three times the rate of inflation – just before winter sets in.

“Public service workers – many of whom have not had pay increases for nearly three years – may find that it is not just their pay that is frozen when they are struggling to heat their homes as a result of these outrageous increases.

“It is not just SSE – many energy companies are putting their prices up, putting the health and wellbeing of the low paid, pensioners and the vulnerable at risk. The Government needs to take urgent action to tackle fuel poverty, and UNISON is calling for an emergency programme of energy efficiency measures designed to cut bills, create jobs and help pull families out of the grip of fuel poverty.”

Unemployment stats

UNISON is today warning that the toll of unemployment will rise after the summer as the Olympic effect wears off and thousands of temporary jobs come to an end.

Students due to get their A Level results tomorrow (15 Aug) – will enter a bleak jobs market. The rising cost of further education has priced many thousands of young people out of their dream of going to university or further education.

The union is urging the government to ditch its failed austerity policies and promote growth through investment in jobs and services, with targeted help for young people.

Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, said:

“This small fall is welcome, but there will be no Olympics’ legacy in the jobs market. The end of thousands of temporary jobs will see unemployment climbing after the summer. Students waiting for A Level results this week face a bleak jobs future. They are set to join the dole queues in high numbers as the hike in tuition fees has priced many thousands of young people out of their dream of going to university or into further education.

“The Tories need to inspire a generation by rebuilding our economy and safeguarding the future. This must include targeted help for young people, as a part of a wider programme of government-led job creation. The continued austerity agenda is condemning our economy to the slow lane.”

Inflation bad news for struggling families - UNISON

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

“This is more bad news for the many families across the UK who are struggling to make ends meet.

“For public service workers who have had their pay frozen for nearly three years and for the millions of unemployed, any increase in inflation will hit their family finances hard.

“With rail fares set to soar well above inflation, UNISON is calling on the the government to think again. The Olympics have given the country a real boost, it is time for the Government to give the economy the boost it needs to build a more secure future.”

No hope of a mortgage for many thousands of public service workers

Hundreds of thousands of public service workers including nurses, paramedics, care and social workers are being priced out of the housing market, despite low interest rates, said UNISON, the UK’s largest union.

The union is warning that although the latest figures show that repossessions are low, many workers cannot afford the high cost of home ownership in the first place and are being let down by a lack of available social housing for rent.

Simon Watson, UNISON National Officer for said:

“The pay freeze means that many thousands of public service workers are being frozen out of owning their own homes. Many simply cannot afford the high cost of ownership and cannot get a mortgage in the first place.

“The Government needs to take urgent action to increase the number and range of affordable rented accommodation. While repossessions may have fallen, we know from our members working in housing associations up and down the county, that tenants are struggling to pay high rents and are falling into arrears.

“The UK’s economy is only getting weaker and the Government needs to kick- start the recovery by boosting new home building.”

New pensions charges scandal looms

The TUC is today calling on the government to ban employers from passing on the costs of taking advice from consultants on the implementation of their new legal duty to automatically enrol staff in a pension to staff pension pots.

The largest employers need to start enrolling staff from this autumn, with other employers following in a phased programme finishing with the smallest employers in 2016. Many employers are seeking help from outside consultants to ensure that they are meeting their new pension duties.

Large employers appear to be absorbing the costs of outside help, but some medium and small employers are planning to recoup the costs of outside consultancy from pension contributions - an additional charge on top of those already levied by pension providers.

This practice, known as consultancy charging in the pensions world, is legal but in a letter to pensions minister Steve Webb the TUC is calling on him to use his powers to cap charges in pension schemes to outlaw consultancy charging.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently confirmed the compatibility of consultancy charging and automatic enrolment, following confusing guidance issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The FSA had suggested that fees for advice taken out of pension contributions could lead to employers failing to satisfy rules on minimum contribution rates. Non compliance with these rules can lead to a series of fines from the Pensions Regulator.

However, the DWP subsequently explained that this only applies where fees are paid before contributions enter an individual's pension pot - and therefore consultancy charging is lawful if fees are paid after contributions have entered the pension scheme. Whether or not staff will appreciate this distinction is highly debatable, says the TUC.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'It is completely wrong that staff who pay in auto-enrolment pensions should have to meet the employer's costs of making sure that they obey the law. This is a cost that should fall on the business as a whole.

'Particularly in low-paid sectors where staff change job frequently, those unlucky enough to work for employers using consultancy charging could find a big chunk of their pension going to consultants, rather than to provide retirement income.'

'Auto-enrolment is a huge advance and the TUC is a strong supporter, but we worry that consultancy charging will sour its introduction. We applaud pension schemes such as NEST who have said that they will not implement consultancy charging.'

High profits levels add to fuel poverty misery

“Ofgem needs to show its teeth and stop fuel companies from making excessive profits at the expense of their customers” said Mike Jeram, UNISON Head of Business and Environment today (26 July).

The union is calling on the Government to take urgent action to stem the growing number of families being dragged into fuel poverty by the high cost of gas and electricity. It is urging the Government to introduce more energy efficiency programmes to help bring down the cost of fuel and provide help for the lowest paid to insulate their homes to a higher standard.

Mike Jeram went on to say:

“British Gas seems to have sidestepped austerity Britain and passed the pain of the double dip recession onto their domestic customers.

“How can it be right that families across the UK are suffering from pay freezes, job cuts and struggle to pay their fuel bills, at the same time as the company is posting a 23% profit hike?

“We need strong regulation and Government action to protect families and pensioners from profiteering.”