Only two-thirds of councils are confident of being able to deliver statutory adult social care services by 2025/26 due to a lack of investment, as a new report has revealed that councils should anticipate real-terms cuts after the next spending review.
A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) has shown that despite eight in ten local authorities forecasting to cut spending on non-statutory services, councils are worried about being able to meet all their legal duties under the Care Act by next year.
While councils received a £500m uplift in funding for social care services this financial year, it follows years of austerity of significant underfunding, the organisation explained.
According to the LGA, the Care Act – which received Royal Assent ten years ago – consolidated a “patchwork of legislation” on adult social care, placing additional duties on councils. This has coincided with the increasing demand for services.
Ultimately, years of underfunding have led to only two-thirds of councils being confident of meeting all their legal duties under the Care Act by 2025/26, the LGA explained.
David Fothergill, the LGA’s social care spokesperson, said: “We are at a critical point, for people who draw on care, councils and the sector.
“Adult social care needs urgent attention. This must be top of the in-tray for any incoming government.”
Real terms cuts
However, this comes as a recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has revealed that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities could receive real-terms cuts after the next spending review.
The report into health spending showed that the government’s commitments under the NHS England workforce plan, which has been supported by the Conservative and Labour parties, implies real-terms funding increases for the NHS of 3.6% per year.
It stated that, given this overall spending plan, any increases in health spending at the next spending review “must reduce spending on all other departments”. “The size of the NHS relative to other areas of spending making this trade-off particularly large”.
The IFS stated that using the government’s “pencilled” in 1% real growth rate in the overall spending envelope, if the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) receives a real-terms annual growth rate of 3.3% and NHS England receives 3.6%, other departments should expect real-terms cuts of 0.1%.
“After considering other spending commitments – on childcare, defence and international aid – this would imply substantial real-terms cuts for other departments,” the IFS’s report stated.
However, if all other health budgets are frozen in real terms, the DHSC could receive a real terms annual growth rate of 3.1%, which could mean “zero real-terms growth for all other departments – in other words, flat real budgets”, the IFS added.
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