ProvidersUnite and the Urgent Call for Social Care Reform
Providers Unite March, 25th February 2025
What is ProvidersUnite?
ProvidersUnite is a grassroots coalition of community care and support providers from across the UK. Formed in response to the growing crisis in the adult social care sector, the movement brings together a diverse network of care providers.
Their mission is to advocate for the survival of the social care sector, ensure providers’ voices are heard at every level of government, and push for urgent reform.
What action has been taken?
On the 25th February 2025, care providers from across the UK came together in a powerful show of unity under the banner of ProvidersUnite. The march, which gained national attention, was more than a protest - it was a rallying cry for the survival of our sector.
At Affinity Care Advisory, we proudly stand with the ProvidersUnite movement. As a coalition of grassroots care and support providers, ProvidersUnite represents a vital network of services that collectively support over 1.2 million individuals and employ a dedicated workforce of 1.59 million. Together, they deliver community care and support services valued at £68.1 billion - a figure that highlights not only their economic importance, but their central role in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Yet despite this, the adult social care sector remains at breaking point.
Pressures on the care sector:
Years of chronic underfunding, a worsening recruitment crisis, and ever-increasing demands have left providers struggling to maintain the standard of care they aspire to. Now, with the recent rises in the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Insurance Contributions (NICs), many providers are warning that the sector could collapse within months unless urgent support is put in place.
At Affinity Care Advisory, we see this strain daily. We work with providers who are doing everything right, maintaining compliance, supporting staff, and delivering outstanding care, but who are still at risk due to the financial and systemic pressures they face.
The next step:
Providers are calling on the Government to recognise the scale of the crisis, provide sustainable funding, and engage with those on the frontline of care.
On the 19th of March 2025, the House of Commons voted to dismiss the Lords’ proposed amendments to the National Insurance Contributions Bill. Despite clear and repeated warnings from providers, charities, and experts, the Government has chosen to press ahead with changes that will place even more financial strain on an already overstretched sector.
For care providers operating on razor-thin margins, this decision threatens service closures, job losses, and vulnerable people left without the support they rely on.
But the fight is not over. Since then, the bill has returned to the House of Lords for further deliberation.
ProvidersUnite and the wider care sector will continue to stand together, stronger than ever. The message remains clear: we will not sit back while the future of social care is pushed further into crisis. The campaign for fair funding, meaningful reform, and recognition of the sector’s value will go on - with renewed urgency.
