COMMENT
government does appear to be listening to our concerns, it’s just whether it will be in a position, because of the national economy, to address them. That brings us back to the timing point: should we introduce all of this in one go, or is it possible to do it in tranches?
“We’ve got to deliver early assessment, carers’ support, carers’ assessments – that represents a big cost pressure for councils in 2015-16, on top of cost pressures on other services too.”
Assessment costs
The LGA has said that delaying the implementation is not a reasonable solution – the only option is more funding.
A spokesman said: “A major concern for councils is uncertainty over the number of people in local areas who are paying for their own care who could now request an assessment under the new system to limit the care costs they have to meet.
“Without proper funding, councils may not be able to meet this additional demand for assessments placing a further strain on local budgets.
“Local authorities are warning the government that if further analysis being carried out between local government and the Department of Health in the coming weeks does uncover a funding gap, more money will be the only reasonable solution to carrying out these reforms – not delaying or making fewer changes.”
The results of that modelling exercise were
expected due to be released very soon, as PSE went to press.
The LGA said its own analysis suggests that by 2020, councils will be spending about 40% of their total budgets on services for older and vulnerable people, with costs rising 13% faster than for any other services.
‘The clock is ticking’
Cllr Katie Hall, chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said councils want to help “as many people as possible” but that “the clock is ticking for government to get the funding right, so that these vital reforms do not face collapse before they have even begun”.
The reforms to care and support come into effect from April 2015, and the funding reforms from April 2016.
Cllr Hall said: “The Care Act has the potential to bring about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people who rely on care and support. Some of the most vulnerable people who rely on care, their families and carers are expecting changes from April next year.
“Many of these people will have been anticipating the positive impact that some of these changes could have on their lives and now could be facing the very real possibility that the government could have unfairly raised their expectations through a failure to properly fund the changes they have been waiting for.
“We have recognised the importance of these reforms since before the Care Bill was first
introduced. It would be an absolute tragedy if insufficient funding jeopardised these desperately needed changes. In recent years, local government has worked tirelessly to save billions while protecting services for those who need them most, but we already know that the next two years will be make or break for adult social care.
“This additional pressure for adult social care is coming to councils at a time when local authority budgets are already under extreme pressure.
“So far, local authorities have managed to limit the impact on the essential care services that people rely on, but it is inevitable that services will eventually start to suffer in the face of such relentless cuts.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We will meet all new burdens that arise from the Care Act. We will continue to work with councils to model the costs of our reforms for 2015-16 and will confirm final allocations to local authorities in December.”
Cllr Puddifoot noted that once the initial implementation is done, the Care Act will in the long term help cut costs while improving services for residents.
“Once we’ve got this up and running, it will be good for residents, and even better for the councils,” he told us.
Cllr Ray Puddifoot
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public sector executive Oct/Nov 14 | 23
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