By Charlotte Webster-
A nationwide consultation has been launched by the Local Government Association into recommendations for the Uk government to fund adult social care in the future, and rescue the services caring for older and disabled people from collapse.
The consultation comes in the wake of the government’s decision to delay the adult social care green paper until the autumn. The LGA’s green paper published today, aims to recommend plans for a secure long-term funding strategy for the sector. Social workers networks and groups are equally concerned about the shortage of funding funding in social services across the country. ”Decades of failures to find a sustainable solution to how to pay for adult social care for the long-term, and the Government’s recent decision to delay its long-awaited green paper on the issue until the autumn, has prompted council leaders to take action”, its launch reads.
The LGA is a cross party organisation representing councils across the Uk. It says: ”short-term cash injections have not prevented care providers reluctantly closing their operations or returning contracts to councils and less choice and availability to a rising number of people with care needs. This is increasing the strain on an already-overstretched workforce and unpaid carers, and leading to more people not having their care needs met”, it states.
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The consultation, the biggest of its kind to be launched by the LGA, aims to get the views of people and organisations from across society on how best to pay for care and support for adults of all ages and their unpaid carers. It also seeks to include the public in what it hopes will spark a national debate on the issue. The LGA will respond to the findings in the autumn to inform and influence the Government’s green paper and spending plans.
The LGA green paper says a debate about ”how to shift the overall emphasis of our care and health system so that it focuses far more on preventative, community-based personalized care, which helps maximize people’s health, well being and independence and alleviates pressure on the NHS. The LGA eight-week consultation will explore various avenues ti inquire how the system could be improved, and the drastic steps that need to be considered to address the scale of this funding crisis. Possible solutions to paying for adult social care in the long-term outlined in the consultation include:
Since 2010 councils have had to bridge a £6 billion funding shortfall just to sustain the adult social care system, the LGA paper states. In addition, the LGA says that adult social care services face a £3.5 billion funding gap by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care, while latest figures show that councils in England receive 1.8 million new requests for adult social care a year – the equivalent of nearly 5,000 a day. The LGA says the British government has only ever provided short term solutions, instead of necessary long term plans a reluctance to provide a long-term plan had “increased strain on an already-overstretched workforce” and left the sector “at breaking point”.
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“One off grants, the council tax precept for social care and increases in improved Better Care Fund funding have been helpful… But each mechanism has its limitations and they have not been sufficient to deal with all short-term pressures, let alone address the issue of longer-term sustainability,” it said.
The LGA says the government needs to increase funding to cover inflation to ease the growing pressure on social workers and improve the welfare of service users. The document also considered how these changes would be funded, but acknowledged that “a mix of solutions” would be needed. It suggested increasing income tax for taxpayers of all ages and a social care premium that charges over 40s and working pensioners more national insurance as two measures the government should consider to cover costs.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Work to find a long-term funding solution for adult social care and support has been kicked into the long grass by successive governments for the past two decades and has brought services to breaking point.”
“We cannot duck this issue as a society any longer. Our green paper is the start of a nationwide public debate about the future of care for all adults, and how best to support their wellbeing.”
“This process must start now,” she added.
Glen Garrod, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), lent his support to the consultation: “The LGA publication of their version of a ‘green paper’ for social care represents an important contribution to the debate about what we want society to look like from one of the key contributors to delivering that future.”
“ADASS will work with the LGA alongside all stakeholders in this critical debate to ensure the voice of adult social care remains prominent throughout. This document maintains a much-needed profile in the lead up to the Governments formal green paper due now in the autumn.”
The LGA will respond to findings in the autumn with the hope of influencing the government’s green paper and autumn budget. You can respond to the consultation here.
Pic Credits: Gatesheadcarers.com
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