Local Government Association Analysis Forecasts That Almost 60p In Every £1 Of Council Tax Could Be Spent On Social Care By 2020

Hft welcomes the publication of the Local Government Association’s latest analysis of local council spending data which today warned that the social care sector needed an immediate cash injection of £1.3bn just to “stabilise the market”.

The charity, which supports adults with learning disabilities, runs a campaign called It Doesn’t Add Up, which seeks to raise awareness of the financial pressures facing the social care sector. Hft’s own independent research, published last year, found that the learning disability sector needed an annual uplift in funding of at least 5% in order to keep up with demand.

Billy Davis, Hft Public Affairs & Policy Manager, commented: “Once again, independent research has reiterated that the social care sector is in the midst of a funding crisis. Both local authorities and social care providers are at full stretch.  The Local Government Association are warning that councils will need to spend almost 60p in every £1 of Council Tax on social care by 2020, while providers are warning that local authorities are continuing to commission support packages at rates that are not financially sustainable.

“With his first Autumn Budget a week away, we hope that the Chancellor will use this momentous occasion to offer the decisive funding solution needed to bring clarity and sustainability to the social care sector.  We welcome the call for a cash injection which would at least provide some short term stability to a cash-strapped sector. However, in the long term, social care funding cannot come at the expense of other essential services such as maintenance of our roads and public transport services, and the education of our children.

“This is a national crisis, which calls for a national solution, and we call on the government to centrally fund social care in a manner similar to the NHS. Otherwise, with local authorities and providers unable to provide support in a financially sustainable way, it is ultimately some of the most vulnerable adults in society who will suffer.”