Responding to a letter to the Chancellor by leading healthcare groups calling for more money to be invested in adult social care and public health services, [YOUR NAME] said:
“Adult social care is vital in its own right and we have been clear for some time that the service is at breaking point and in desperate need of genuinely new funding to secure its future.
“To reduce pressures on the NHS, it is essential adult social care is put on an equal footing with the health service. Without new funding, we risk going backwards and undoing the great work that has been achieved to date. This will impact on people across the country.
“The Chancellor should use the Budget to stabilise adult social care in the here and now, set out a long-term sustainable funding solution, and as a minimum reverse the false economy of the cuts to councils’ public health budgets.
“Social care, public health and other council services that support people’s wider wellbeing help people live longer, healthier and happier lives, but the reality is that many local authorities are having to make difficult decisions on these key services, including stopping them altogether, further compounding the pressures on GP surgeries and hospitals.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
Adult social care faces a £3.5 billion funding gap by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care. Following government’s decision to delay its green paper on adult social care, the LGA published its own green paper consultation to drive forward the public debate on what sort of care and support we need to improve people’s wellbeing and independence, the need to focus on prevention work, and, crucially, how we fund these vital services.
There has been a £600 million reduction to councils’ public health grants between 2015/16 (following the 2015 General Election) and 2019/20.