Newcastle City Budget Increasingly Being Directed to Social Care
Newly released figures indicate that a growing share of Newcastle City Council’s budget is being directed towards adult social care ahead of next week’s local elections.
Statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show that spending on adult social care in the city has risen significantly, increasing from £96.6 million in 2018–19 to £161 million in 2024–25. This marks one of the sharpest increases in England when compared with overall council expenditure.
Over the same period, adult social care has taken up a larger proportion of Newcastle’s service spending. In 2018–19, it accounted for 36% of expenditure (excluding education), rising to 45% by 2024–25. This represents the second largest proportional increase nationally, with only Hammersmith and Fulham recording a greater rise.
Local elections in Newcastle are due to take place on 7 May, with political parties outlining their approaches to managing social care services.
The Labour administration, which currently controls the council, says it has already begun reforming provision across the city. Measures include the introduction of community-based teams, alongside national increases to carer’s allowance. A party spokesperson told the BBC, which first reported the figures, that Social CarePoint teams have helped reduce hospital and care home admissions by supporting individuals to remain independent in their own homes.
The spokesperson added that further plans include closer integration with children’s services to support smoother transitions, as well as participation in the Connect to Work programme aimed at helping adults access employment.
Meanwhile, Conservative candidate Connor Shotton, standing in Kingston Park and Dinnington, said his party would seek to reduce costs by combining council departments with overlapping responsibilities. He suggested that streamlining back-office functions could free up resources for frontline services, with areas such as energy, communications and human resources identified as potential candidates for consolidation.
The Green Party has highlighted the need for what it describes as fairer taxation to ensure sustainable funding for social care. A spokesperson said their approach would prioritise early intervention to prevent crises, improve pay and job security for care workers, and strengthen collaboration between social care services, the NHS and community organisations.
Across the wider North East, similar trends are evident. In Sunderland, the proportion of council spending allocated to adult social care increased from 33% to 40% over the same period. Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland councils also recorded notable rises in the share of their budgets devoted to children’s social care, climbing from 24% to 34% and from 25% to 35% respectively between 2018–19 and 2024–25.
