Autumn Budget 2025 – FitzRoy’s response

Today’s Budget offers little indication that the Government intends to make the long-term investment social care urgently needs. The system as a whole remains under intense strain.

The OBR’s latest outlook underlines the pressure facing local authorities and the services they commission – including social care.

Behind every budget line are real lives – the support workers who hold services together and the people whose independence depends on consistent, skilled, compassionate care.

Today is a good time to remember that social care isn’t for ‘other people’. Many of us rely on it right now, and every one of us will need it at some point in our lives – either for ourselves or for the people we love. We don’t talk about the NHS as something only sick or ill people need – social care deserves the same recognition as a universal part of all our lives.

At FitzRoy, we will continue working on solutions that put people first, regardless of financial challenges. Our focus remains on what we know enables independence, dignity and choice:

• Care outside institutions – smaller, community-based homes
• Transforming services – using evidence, learning and innovation
• Social care as a valued career – fair reward and progression
• Technology that serves people – practical tools that increase independence
• Voice and lived experience – people shaping decisions that affect them

Local authority commissioning must be sustainable if we want high-quality personalised support to thrive. Providers and councils need a fair, realistic settlement that reflects the true cost of care.

New neighbourhood health centres will improve access to NHS services – but without matching investment in social care, people will still fall through the gaps.

None of this is possible without a skilled and valued workforce. We will keep championing the pay, training and recognition our staff deserve.

We are also committed to supporting the Baroness Casey review in every way we can, so that the future system is stronger, fairer and built around what matters most in people’s lives.

Budgets and political ambitions change. Our commitment to helping people live gloriously ordinary lives does not.

Angela Murphy, FitzRoy Chief Executive