Councils welcome reported delay in introduction of £86k cap on adult social care

Councils have welcomed reports that the Government is considering delaying charging reforms to adult social care in England, including the introduction of a £86,000 cap on care and a more generous means-test.

The Times has reported that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, is looking to postpone the reforms for a year.

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “We are encouraged to see that the LGA’s call for a delay to aspects of these reforms might be being listened to as there is not currently the funding and capacity in place needed to ensure these reforms are a success.

“A delay would mean that government has time to learn from the trailblazers and ensure that the funding and support is in place for councils that will ensure successful implementation of the reforms. Whilst a delay would help in relation to implementation of the cap on care costs and increased capital limits, it is important that the funding allocated to move towards paying a fair price for care is still made available so that councils can begin to increase the fees paid to providers to more sustainable levels. This funding is not a substitute for funding inflation and wage pressures, which government must also fund to avoid market failure."

Cllr Fothergill added: “Councils have always supported the reforms in principle and want to deliver them effectively. The Government needs to consider the increase in costs forecast due to inflation and increase in living wage when addressing the additional funding that the reforms will need.”

The County Councils Network (CCN) had also called two weeks ago for a 12-month delay to the reforms, which were due to be implemented in October 2023,

It claimed services face a ‘perfect storm’ of financial and workforce pressures over the next 18 months.

Cllr Martin Tett, County Councils Network Spokesperson for Adult Social Care said: “The County Councils Network has led calls for the proposed reforms in adult social care to be delayed by a year and we welcome reports that the government is actively considering this. 

“With local authorities facing severe workforce and inflation-fuelled financial pressures, they would be impossible to implement in the timescales without making services worse and leading to longer waits for a care package for people on day one of their introduction.

“But while the implementation of the reforms should be delayed, the funding committed next year must be retained by councils and reprioritised, not used as a saving as part of the government Medium-Term Fiscal Plan. This would help tackle the £3.7bn additional inflationary and demand costs which are impacting services this year and next. A delay to implementation will do little for care services if the government does not reprioritise earmarked funding for existing services while also delivering their promise to rebalance funding between health and care. Failure to do so will mean we will be back to square one in 12 months’ time.”

Cllr Tett added: “We understand that today’s reports may come as a disappointment to those who have urged for reform to social care for years, but we cannot run the risk of them falling at the first hurdle. Councils need time to plan and prepare, expand our workforce, and ensure that the new financial burdens facing care services are properly costed.”

The cross-party group London Councils has also revealed it is seeking a delay to planned reforms of adult social care funding.

“Although the government intends to introduce a new adult social care charging framework from October 2023 – including changes designed to cap personal costs and increase eligibility for support – boroughs say the adult social care sector needs longer to prepare,” it said.

London Councils warned that tthe reforms could divert resources away from frontline social care and put additional pressures on staff capacity.

It said it wants the Gvernment to push back implementation of the new framework until 2024 once the experience of ‘trailblazer’ local authorities piloting the changes has been assessed.

London Councils is pressing for a government guarantee that no local authority will be left financially worse off as a result of the reforms.  

The group is also calling for immediate emergency funding to boost adult social care provision, which it argues is essential for maintaining NHS performance over the winter months.

It said that while it welcomed the recent announcement of a £500m adult social care discharge fund for local authorities across England, there remained considerable uncertainty over how much of this would come directly to councils.

Cllr Nesil Caliskan, London Councils’ Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care, said: “This is set to be a very challenging winter for health and care services across the capital.

“We’re deeply concerned about the impact of worsening financial pressures on London’s adult social care sector. Adult social care plays a vital role in supporting older and disabled Londoners, but also in ensuring the smooth-running of London’s NHS. This was particularly pronounced at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and boroughs remain committed to working in partnership with the NHS to serve London’s communities as best we can."

Cllr Caliskan added: “We were pleased to see the government announce the £500m adult social care discharge fund, but we need urgent clarity on what extra resources are coming to councils to bolster services this winter.

“Looking to next year and beyond, the current timetable for reforming adult social care funding looks increasingly unrealistic and risks destabilising services already under immense pressure. We hope ministers will listen to councils’ concerns and work with us to find a better way forward, including the long-term funding solution the sector still desperately needs.”