Briefings and responses

Adult social care and support is a vital service in its own right. It helps people of all ages to live the life they want to lead. It binds our communities, helps sustain the NHS and provides essential economic value to our country. Too often health and social care are set on unequal footings, with the latter viewed (sometimes solely) in terms of the role it can play in supporting the former.

Local authorities will face an overall funding gap of £3.1 billion in 2019/20, which we estimate will rise to £8 billion by 2024/25. The pressures are particularly acute in adult social care, children’s services and homelessness support.

Local authorities continue to play an important role in managing the impacts of welfare reform in their communities, including the rollout of the Universal Credit (UC) Full Service. It is therefore crucial that councils’ concerns about the effect of the rollout of UC on residents and services are listened to by the Government.

Councils have a vital role in supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing and ensuring they have the support they need to thrive. We are calling for a cross-Whitehall strategy that puts children and young people at the heart of recovery.

Local authorities are the primary point of engagement for identifying where refugees are to be resettled, and lead on work with local partners and communities to help families settle into their new homes.

The final settlement includes an additional £190 million for local government, when compared to the indicative 2018/19 settlement announced this time last year.

By 2019/20, more than half of all English councils, including three quarters of district councils, will no longer receive the revenue support grant.

The LGA has long highlighted that adult social care exists to enable adults of all ages and with a range of conditions to live their best life and an equal life.

Coastal towns have suffered from underfunding and underinvestment from central Government. They often have poor transport infrastructure, poor digital connectivity, poor healthcare facilities, an aging population and as a result, disproportionately high levels of deprivation.

In order to tackle the national housing shortage, councils need to be empowered to build more affordable, good quality homes at scale, and fast, where these are locally needed.