Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Acknowledged
Set out spending review preparations and long-term funding certainty for local authorities.
Recommendation
Local authorities are having to plan and commission adult social care services against a backdrop of fragmented and uncertain funding. We have long voiced our frustration at the short-term and multiple funding pots provided to local government and recommended that government explore ways to provide more confidence over long-term funding. We note that funding announced for adult social care in 2022 covered 2023–24 and 2024–25, yet we remain concerned at the perpetual late announcement of overall funding for local government. We welcome the additional funding for adult social care in recent years but recognise these are short-term top-ups, often designed to be spent on specific initiatives (such as increasing pay to providers) with no guarantee that they will continue. The latest government announcement of an additional £500 million for adult and children’s social care is welcome but comes just weeks before the next financial year is due to begin and may be too little, too late to have a demonstrable impact. Patchwork funding and short-notice announcements hinder the sector’s ability to plan for the long-term and risks undermining delivery of the Department’s 10-year vision for adult social care. Funding for adult social care, including supporting the planned reforms, for 2025–26 onwards will depend on the next spending review. Recommendation 3: Given it has a 10-year vision for reforming adult social care, in its Treasury Minute response, the Department should set out: i) what it is doing now to prepare for the next spending review and make the case for more stable funding, and ii) what it can do to give local authorities greater certainty over funding and allow them to plan for the longer term.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, stating it is learning from the first phase of reform and monitoring current funding impacts to inform preparations for the next spending review. It will work with HM Treasury and DLUHC to deliver a sustainable funding package, aiming to provide as much certainty as possible for local authorities.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The department is making good progress towards the 10-year vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper. The department is learning from the first phase of reform, to inform plans for the next spending review period and beyond. The department is also monitoring the impact of the additional funding provided in this spending review period, with a total of up to £8.6 billion made available across two financial years. This is alongside reforms to local government accountability and data transparency, that will shed further light on local performance, all of which will inform the department’s spending review preparations. The department recognises the value of providing longer term certainty of funding to local authorities. The 2021 Spending Review set out funding for local government for three years, providing the same level of certainty as for government departments. The government will always seek to provide as much certainty as possible for local authorities when providing funding for delivering services, whilst maintaining flexibility to respond to unexpected pressures. The department will work with HM Treasury and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to make sure the next spending review delivers a sustainable funding package for Adult Social Care.