Anyone reading reading articles in the online version of the journal Local Government Executive (LGE) will find a consistent but worrying message emerging from representatives of local government i.e. the Local Government Association (LGA) and the the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS): the squeeze on their funding by central government is now presenting a serious threat to service provision, just as new requirements are imposed by the implementation of the Care Act 2014. We would recommend that you read each of the articles cited in full. (They are not that long!)
LGE News 16.09.2014 9 out of 10 councils ‘forced to cut social care access’
Funding pressures have forced nearly 90 per cent of English councils to limit access to social care for people with low or moderate needs, with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care (ADASS) warning the system is becoming “unsustainable”…
LGE News 05.09.2014 London facing £36m funding shortfall for Care Act preparations, councils warn
The shortfall in funding to prepare for the introduction of the Care Act in London is twice as big as previously thought at £36m, leaving many boroughs “back at square one”, councils have warned…
07.08.2014 9 out of 10 councils fear funding shortages could derail “vital” care reforms
Almost nine out of 10 councils fear a lack of Government funding could put “vital” care reforms at risk, according to a new poll. Under the Care Act, the amount some people will pay towards social care costs will be capped at £72,000 from April 2016. Councils will start assessing the support needs of those who pay for their own care from April 2015.
A poll of 152 local authorities with responsibility for adult social care found that 134 are concerned about the cost of making the changes. The Local Government Association, which carried out the survey, said uncertainty about the number of people who could now request an assessment is a “major concern”…
The situation is further complicated by the fact that local authorities are complaining to central government about the extra costs imposed on them following the recent High Court judgements on safeguarding and DoLS assessments:
31.07.2014 Safeguarding changes could take £88m from care budgets, warn council chiefs
Supreme Court judgements changing rules governing how local authorities assess people needing care and support could drain another £88m from already stretched budgets and push social care further into crisis, council chiefs have warned.
The court’s decision affects Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which govern care arrangements for people who do not have the mental capacity to consent to those arrangements. The ruling means that if a person is subject to both continuous supervision and control, and is not free to leave they are deprived of their liberty.
Research for the court by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) suggests this will increase the number of DoLS assessments from a projected figure of 13,719 in 2013-14 to over 138,000 in 2014-15 and almost 176,000 in 2015-16 in hospitals and residential care…
One way of interpreting these ‘messages’ from local government is as the opening moves in what will be fraught negotiations with central government over funding for the next financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17. We await developments, noting also that there will be a general election in 2015…