Who is Really Paying For Social Care
Campaign for Transparent Care Pricing
Jon Allen RMN, BA (Hons) MSc MBA
Previous Director and Owner of Care Home Services, NHS Director of Nursing
NHS Non Executive and Private Sector Non Executive Director
Campaign for Transparent Care Pricing
Jon Allen RMN, BA (Hons) MSc MBA
Previous Director and Owner of Care Home Services, NHS Director of Nursing
NHS Non Executive and Private Sector Non Executive Director
Around 1 million people in England receive publicly funded adult social care.
Millions more households may be indirectly paying around £1billion to subsidise the system (CMA 2017) . Today(2026) it is estimated this may be closer to £4 billion
When the public price of care falls below the cost of delivering safe services, the gap does not disappear — it is transferred to private households, care providers and the care workforce.
England’s adult social care system increasingly relies on hidden cross-subsidy.
Local authorities often purchase care below the cost of delivery.
To keep services running, providers charge higher fees to private residents, request third-party top-ups from families, and operate with unsustainably low margins and suppressed wages.
This system is not transparent, not equitable, and was never openly debated or voted for.
A petition has been submitted to the UK Parliament calling for:
Transparent national pricing for social care
An end to hidden cross-subsidy from private households
A fair and sustainable funding model for providers and the workforce