Local government has a vital role to play in delivering high
quality public services for local communities. The government is
already taking steps to empower local councils, giving them
greater choice in how best to serve their local area – for
example, enabling councils to raise more money locally for
services. The Budget provides additional funding to help support
local authority financial sustainability.
The government has already taken action to help secure a stable
system of social care in England. The government has created the
Improved Better Care Fund to help support health and social care
integration, and introduced the new adult social care precept.
At Spring Budget 2017, the government provided an additional
£2 billion for councils to spend on adult social care services.
In the longer term, the government is committed to putting social
care on fairer and more sustainable footing and will set out
proposals for adult social care in the forthcoming
green paper.
Additional social care funding – In the short term, the Budget
provides an additional £240 million in 2018-19 and £240 million
in 2019-20 for adult social care. This will make sure people can
leave hospital when they are ready, into a care setting that best
meets their needs. This will help the NHS to free up the beds it
needs over winter. (2)
The Budget provides a further £410 million in 2019-20 for adults
and children’s social care. Where necessary, local councils
should use this funding to ensure that adult social care
pressures do not create additional demand on the NHS. Local
councils can also use it to improve their social care offer for
older people, people with disabilities and children. (2)
The Budget provides councils with an additional £55 million in
2018-19 for the Disabled Facilities Grant to provide home aids
and adaptations for disabled children and adults on low incomes.
(19)
Children’s social care improvement – The Budget provides £84
million over 5 years for up to 20 local authorities, to help
more children to stay at home safely with their families. This
investment builds on the lessons learned from successful
innovation programmes in Hertfordshire, Leeds and North
Yorkshire. (3)
