Regional care providers have branded Government plans to halve promised social care funding as ‘cruel’ and ‘unfair’.

The Government pledged in December 2021 to invest at least £500 million to “transform the way we support the social care workforce”.

The Department of Health and Social Care this week confirmed the figure had been slashed to £250 million.

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Asked about the plans this week it said support for unpaid carers would be set out “in due course”.

Mike Padgham, Chair of the North Yorkshire-based  Independent Care Group, said he was no longer convinced by Government pledges.

He said the announcement was “yet another cruel and unfair cut to the funding we need to provide help and support to older and vulnerable people”.

He added: “We need every penny of funding and cannot afford to have £250 million removed at a stroke like this.

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“The Government insists that all promised funding will stay within the sector but we cannot believe a word they tell us anymore.”

It came as unions called for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss the workforce “crisis” in the sector.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters on Tuesday the latest announcement was “a betrayal from the Government of older people and those with needs in social care”, saying the Tories had “promised a lot and now they’re delivering almost nothing”.

Bosses at the TUC, Unison, Unite and GMB unions have all written to the Government warning there is no serious plan to tackle staffing shortages.

In a joint letter to care minister Helen Whately, unions described the decision to reduce funding as a “huge step backwards”.

The union leaders said: “The training and development fund has been halved from the £500 million pledged to £250 million.

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“Investment to support health and wellbeing among the social care workforce is nowhere to be seen, and with no sign of the long-awaited workforce strategy, there is no serious plan in place to address the social care staffing crisis for the long term.

“Staffing is the single biggest challenge facing adult social care. The disproportionately female, BME social care workforce delivers an essential public service. Yet ever-worsening pay and conditions combined with low morale have contributed to a recruitment and retention crisis.

“Four out of 10 care workers earn less than real living wage and nine in 10 earn less than the £15 per hour unions are calling for. Almost a quarter of the sector are employed on zero-hours contracts.

“This has a real impact on the lives of people who rely on care services.

“The Government promised to throw a protective ring around social care, but instead it is presiding over a perfect storm.”

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Ms Whately, who told the annual Care England conference last month that she was part of a Government that “backs social care”, said the package announced on Tuesday “focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves”.

She said: “Care depends completely on the people who do the caring – that’s over a million care staff working in care homes and agencies, and countless relatives, friends and volunteers, acting out of the kindness of their hearts.

“That’s why this package of reforms focuses on recognising care with the status it deserves, while also focusing on the better use of technology, the power of data and digital care records, and extra funding for councils – aiming to make a care system we can be proud of.”