Significantly more members of the public would support a national tax increase over council tax rises to bridge the adult social care funding gap, according to a new poll.
The survey was carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA) as part of its submission to the government’s consultation on its green paper, which was launched after the government delayed its own proposals.
It found that 56% of people would support a 1% increase on National Insurance payments, 51% favour a social insurance payment and 49% are behind a 1% increase in income tax.
This compares to just 34% of those surveyed who would support a 1% increase on council tax.
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “The government must use its upcoming green paper to make a serious case for national tax rises including either increases to income tax and/or National Insurance to provide long term sustainability for the vital social care services that are central to helping people to live fulfilling, independent lives.”
Respondents supporting a rise in national insurance did so because it is a progressive tax, and it would be simple to administer, according to the LGA.
Its submission document quoted one response from a council, which said: “Council tax would not raise sufficient funding to meet pressures and would be subject to distributional effects that don’t reflect local need.
“It is also regressive in that it proportionally falls more on lower income households.”
Another response, from an unnamed local government organisation, said: “We have always argued that the social care precept reflects the size of an authority’s council tax base which does not necessarily correlate with areas of highest need.
“For this reason, council tax should not be considered as a viable long-term solution for funding adult social care and increasing it further could potentially make council tax unaffordable to many.”
However, a couple of respondents made the point that a rise in the rate of employers’ national insurance could add to the cost of delivering care to councils.
The LGA said that, despite short-term funding announced by the government in the budget, adult social care services still face a £3.5bn funding gap by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care.
Responding to the LGA’s submission, David Williams, County Councils Network spokesman for health and social care, said: “We believe that [a] national taxation solution to social care should be considered, whether from National Insurance, general taxation, or from the recently-floated, over-40s levy.
“At the same time, prevention must be at the heart of the reform agenda. If the government is to invest in the NHS without investing in adult social care and the preventative agenda – it will simply create a false economy. If reform is to be successful, local government must be part of the solution – with a strengthened role in the social care.”
A green paper on long-term reform of the care funding system was due to be published by the government this summer, but was delayed until autumn.
However, it has yet to appear.
