Responding to Matt Hancock’s first speech as the new Health and Social Care Secretary, in which he announced a £487 million funding package to transform technology for the health and social care system, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“This funding is good news for the sector, but it should be focused on delivering on joint local priorities rather than simply NHS national priorities.
“It is essential that councils have a significant input into local decisions on how this funding is used so that data is effectively shared in the interests of people using services and processes are streamlined across health and care systems.
“It’s good to see the Secretary of State’s focus on prevention which is the surest way to reduce hospital admissions and reduce pressures on the NHS and adult social care, which needs to be put on an equal footing with the health service.
“While significant new money has been announced for the NHS, no new money has been pledged for councils’ public health teams or adult social care which remains in desperate need of a long-term funding settlement.
“Reductions to public health budgets also need to be reversed to enable councils to continue to help people to live independently and well, which will help ease demands on the NHS and social care and save money for the public purse.”
1. Following the delay in the Government’s green paper until the autumn, the LGA will be publishing its own green paper on adult social care this summer to help influence the Government’s spending plans.
2. Recent surveys by the LGA show that 96 per cent of councils and lead members believe there is a major funding problem with adult ocial care and that 87 per cent of the public support more funding to plug the significant funding gap in the sector.
3. There is a £3.5 billion funding gap facing adult social care by 2025.
4.Councils’ public health grants have been reduced by £600 million between 2015/16 and 2019/20.