LGA responds to ADASS budget survey on adult social care

Responding to the 2018 budget survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“This report is further compelling evidence of the irrefutable crisis in adult social care funding which cannot be ignored.

“Councils in England will have seen their core funding from central government reduce by £16 billion between 2010 and 2020 – almost exactly the same as their planned spend for adult social care for 2017/18.

“The fact that nearly 40 per cent of councils’ overall budgets are now spent on adult social care shows that local government is striving to protect this vital service. But despite these efforts, the combination of historic funding reductions, rising demand and increasing cost pressures mean many councils continue to have to make significant savings and reductions within adult social care services to balance their overall budgets. 

“The stark consequences of this include an ever more fragile provider market, growing unmet and under-met need, further strain on informal carers, less investment in prevention, and continued pressure on an already-overstretched workforce.

“Councils and providers are doing all they can to help ensure older and disabled people receive high quality care, but unless immediate action is taken to tackle increasingly overstretched council budgets, the adult social care tipping point, which we have long warned about, will be breached and councils risk not being able to fulfil their statutory duty under the Care Act.

“Government needs to address immediate pressures impacting on the system today and plug the funding gap facing adult social care, which is set to exceed £2 billion by 2020, and ensure its Green Paper will deliver reforms to future-proof the long term sustainability of adult social care.

“As excitement builds towards the NHS’ 70^th birthday, and the reported increase in funding for our health service, this survey is a powerful reminder that the financial needs of our care and support system are just as great as, if not greater than, those facing the NHS.”