• Sajid Javid announces adult social care funding measures through local government settlement
• Councils can raise social care precept by 6% over next two years alongside £240m ‘support grant’
• We say raising the precept will support services over next two years but does not provide a long term solution to the problem

Communities and local government secretary Sajid Javid today announced new funding measures to tackle pressures on the social care system.

Delivering a statement to Parliament on the local government settlement, Javid announced measures including:

• A £240m adult social care ‘support grant’ in 2017/18 distributed to the need of 152 local councils funded through reforms to new homes bonus.
• Allowing local councils to raise the social care precept earlier by up to 3% in 2017/18, (generating £208m) and up to 3% in 2018/19 (generating £444m)

These measures combine will make £900m of additional funding available for adult social care over the next two years.

Commenting in response to today’s announcement by the government to increase social care funding in the short-term, Saffron Cordery, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said:

“Care and support services in England are under significant strain and the government has acted by bringing forward funding for social care in the short term. Allowing local authorities to levy council tax rises to cover costs over the next two years combined with money from the new homes bonus will help – both in terms of individuals, families and their carers and also in reducing pressure on the NHS. It’s important that health and care should acknowledge and welcome extra investment when it is made available, especially given the wider state of the public finances at this time.

Enabling councils to raise more tax through the precept will support services over the next two years. But it will not result in any additional funding over the next three years and it does not provide a long term solution to the problems.

“Over the last six years reductions in adult social care funding have led to 26% fewer people now receiving the publicly funded social care they need. This has also added to pressures facing front line NHS services, especially A and E departments where we have seen increases in the numbers of people needing treatment and in emergency admissions to hospital. These pressures have also caused unnecessary delays in discharging patients from hospital when they are ready to leave.

“Enabling councils to raise more tax through the precept will support services over the next two years. But it will not result in any additional funding over the next three years and it does not provide a long term solution to the problems. We are also concerned that the use of the precept in this way will not reduce inequalities in accessing care and support because it will raise less money in the areas of greatest deprivation – as recent analysis from The King’s Fund has demonstrated. We would have preferred to also bring forward planned investment in the Better Care Fund as this would have been fairer and more effective.

“Finally, it must be acknowledged that this is a challenge that has not been addressed by successive governments and we still need to find a longer-term solution to funding social care. The prime minister has committed to this, and we look forward to playing our part.”