Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Accepted
The Department for Health and Social Care is drip-feeding numerous policy changes in adult social...
Recommendation
The Department for Health and Social Care is drip-feeding numerous policy changes in adult social care, many of which are welcome, but many of which will have a significant impact on local authorities in terms of their spending and capacity. These include the cap and new means test, commencing Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014 in respect of residential care, the fair cost of care, reforms in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper around housing, data, and assurance, and reforms in the Joining up Care for People, Places and Populations White Paper around health and care integration. We understand that local authorities are working closely with central government on these reforms. But we are concerned that the Government does not have a handle on what the total impact on local authorities will be. The 76 Long-term funding of adult social care Government should publish a new burdens assessment by the end of the year to determine the level of resource needed by local government in terms of staff, expertise, and funding to deliver the full package of adult social care reforms. (Paragraph 77) People at the heart of care: the direction of travel for reform
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states that National Planning Policy already makes clear that local authorities must plan for a range of housing needs, including the needs of older and disabled people, and that they do not intend to introduce statutory requirements at this time.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
As announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, we listened to the concerns of local government and took the difficult decision to delay implementation of the planned reforms to the adult social care charging system (known as ‘charging reform’). Alongside this, the planned extension of Section 18(3) to enable self-funders in residential care to access local authority commissioning has also been delayed. This delay gives local authorities additional time to prepare for rollout, and none of the £3.6 billion announced for charging reform in 2021 has been diverted away. The savings from this decision are being retained in local authority budgets to help them meet the current pressures in social care. In fact, we are providing even more funding for adult social care on top of the £3.6 billion, with an additional £2.7 billion in new grant funding. This is because we are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the right care and support they need, at the right time. The government published an initial impact assessment in January 2022, which sets out its modelling of the costs and benefits of charging reform. An updated impact assessment will be published in advance of implementation. Additionally, in preparing for implementation in October 2023, the government d
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