The 'Cost of Care' is far above the funding available

Article from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services

The government has required councils to undertake a ‘Cost of Care’ exercise with their local care providers and to publish the results on the 1st  February 2023.
Sarah McClinton, ADASS President said:

“The Cost of Care exercises have been challenging and time-consuming for councils and for those providers that responded. However, they have been valuable in enabling councils to further increase their knowledge and understanding of how those local care providers who responded operate, the costs they incur and the pressures they are facing. We encourage both councils and providers to continue to work together to develop a shared understanding of the local care sector and the costs of providing high-quality, personalised care”

“What is most telling, however, is that local government does not have the funding available to move towards the calculated costs of care in any significant way. Councils face increasing needs and cannot collectively pay providers over and above current rates by inflation given what is allocated by government in the Autumn Statement and in the provisional local government finance settlement. This assumes that Council Tax is increased by a maximum”

“Councils have squeezed down prices paid to providers over many years. We are committed to increasing both the pay of care staff and to reducing the numbers of people with unmet needs. This requires long term sustainable funding and a work force plan.  Social care is a critical benefit to the individuals needing and drawing on it, to carers, to care workers and the wider economy”
 

- ENDS -

Note to editors
The cost of care exercises and provider engagement were undertaken as part of the Government requirements of the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund 2022 to 2023. They related to a calculated cost of care for care homes for people over 65 and for domiciliary care for everyone over 18.

It’s important to recognise that an adult social care market of just under 18,000 providers cannot be broken down into two representative financial figures in a meaningful way that reflects the variety of business models and cost bases in operation across the country.