Responding to the Public Accounts Committee’s report on Health
and Social Care integration, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the
Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Councils are determined to do all they can to ensure that
exceptional, joined up, person-centred care and support is
delivered in their communities, but with adult social care now
consuming almost 40 per cent of council budgets and facing a
shortfall in funding of £3.5 billion by 2025, the need for a
long-term funding plan for adult social care has never been so
urgent – the Government must either outline this in the upcoming
budget, or the green paper on social care.
“The Government’s social care green paper must set out that
long-term plan, and build on the progress set out in the recent
allocation of £240 million allocated to support social care
departments and reduce pressures on the health service. With the
sector having offered multiple solutions for the social care
crisis and the LGA publishing its own green paper for care, the
options are on the table – we now need to see action being taken
by government to secure long-term funding for social care.
“It’s important that integration is not seen as an end in itself
but as a means to achieving better services and health and
wellbeing outcomes, which is why local leadership, across local
government and the NHS, is crucial to making sure that health and
social care work most effectively for the communities they serve.
We also need to make sure that national targets and
conditions do not divert attention from the support that
locally-led solutions, and a long-term funding plan, could
provide for residents who need care.
“If we are to deliver the most effective integration between
health and social care possible, it’s essential that funding for
both health services and social care is secured on a long-term
basis, and that local health and care leaders are given the
space, resources and time to deliver appropriate solutions for
the communities they serve.”
