The LGA has been leading efforts to highlight the significant pressures facing adult social care and we are pleased that the Government has started to act on our concerns.
Key messages
- The LGA has been leading efforts to highlight the significant pressures facing adult social care and we are pleased that the Government has started to act on our concerns. The announcement in the Budget of £2 billion for adult social care marks a significant step towards protecting the services caring for older and disabled people in our communities.
- Councils must have full flexibility over how they use this funding. Adult social care is vital in its own right as it helps people of all ages live independently in their communities. Any measures associated with the funding must be proportionate and agreed with local government leaders.
- With local government facing an overall funding gap of £5.8 billion by 2020, all councils will need to make continued cutbacks to local services, including social care, over the next few years. As helpful as the Budget’s announcement is, short-term pressures remain and the challenge of finding a long-term solution to the social care crisis is far from over. To close the funding gap facing social care additional funding needs to be recurrent and put into local government baselines.
- The publication of a Green Paper will be vital to securing sustainable, long term funding for the sector. Local government leaders must play a fundamental part in reaching a solution. All options must be on the table and it needs cross-party national support.