Report shows one in 10 councils cut social care funding

Nov 22, 2017
Scott is the partner responsible for looking after the firm’s healthcare and medical sector clients. Scott also specialises in advising small businesses.
social care

Report shows 10% of councils cut social care funding

A think tank has found that one in 10 councils have cut funding to social care, and has caused protesters to say that the system can no longer cope with the increasing demand.

According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, in real terms, between 2009 and 2015/16, authority spending on social care fell by 11%, and six in seven have made cuts in its care spending per adult resident over that period.

Long term sustainability within the social care sector is already questioned, and these figures add more concerns to the ever growing problem on how to solve the issues currently faced by the sector.

However, ministers are promising that there will be billions of pounds of extra funds available over this parliament.

These statistics come after it emerged that nearly half of care workers leave their job within just a year of starting, with 84,000 roles left vacant.

Scott Sanderson, Healthcare Partner at Hawsons, said: “It seems like every other week that I’m commenting about the issues facing the care sector. And the fact that it feels that often shows that there is instability in the sector, I hope the Government comes through with their promises to provide extra funding.”

Spending on social care fell by most on average in London, for example, by 18%. Metropolitan districts such as Merseyside, Tyneside, Greater Manchester and the North East also saw a drop by 18%.

In a tenth of council areas, spending fell below £325 per adult resident, research by IFS, funded by the the Health Foundation found. The research also saw major variations on what each council areas spend on social care, with spending standing at more than around £445 in another tenth of authorities last year.

Three regions spent less than £400 per adult, and these were the North East, East Anglia and the South West. This is compared to the lowest spending regions in Yorkshire and the Midlands, standing in at £360.

Scott Sanderson added: “The funding from councils is falling, there is no doubt about that, but there is not enough money as it is for anyone to spend on social care. As the experts keep stating, social care needs to be funded properly by the Government. There is only so much councils can do with the money they have.”

Scott Sanderson

Scott Sanderson, Partner

Scott Sanderson began his career with Hawsons and trained as a Chartered Accountant, becoming a partner in 2015, specialising in the healthcare sector and small businesses. For more details and advice, please contact Scott on ss@hawsons.co.uk or 0114 266 7141.[/author_info]