Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Deferred
Fragmented, uncertain short-term funding stifles long-term planning and investment in adult social care.
Recommendation
We have reported before on the prevalence of short-term, one-off funding for local authorities and recommended that government explore ways to provide greater confidence over long-term funding.31 With regard to adult social care, this lack of financial certainty has constrained local authorities’ and providers’ ability to plan for the longer term, and caused investment in areas such as staff training, new accommodation and technological innovation to suffer.32 Local authorities have continued to report financial pressures and last year just under one-fifth of directors responsible for social care reported they were not confident they could meet their statutory duties for care in 2024–25.33 The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) reported that one-year funding settlements for local government, supplemented by short-term and targeted grant funding for adult social care, meant that the conditions and certainty have not been there for councils or providers to embark on multi-year investment programmes to fundamentally transform the services they offer.34
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, explaining they are learning from reforms and monitoring funding impact to inform future spending review preparations. They commit to working with HM Treasury and DLUHC to ensure the next spending review delivers a sustainable funding package for Adult Social Care, while seeking to provide as much certainty as possible.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 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. 3.3 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. 3.4 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.