NCF Member Briefing 26.1.24
Extra Money for Social Care in Local Government Finance Settlement
This week, DLUHC unexpectedly announced that an extra £500m will be included in the Social Care Grant as part of the final Local Government Finance Settlement. For this to happen this late indicates the concern about the financial sustainability of local government. The additional funding appears to come following the lobbying by over 40 Conservative MPs and Conservative local government leaders who realised their local services were facing collapse without the money. NCF also called for more money in its submission to the consultation on the settlement.
Concerningly, however, the government communications and narrative around this new money appears to be fixed on children's social care. The Social Care Grant is for children's and adult social care and it is up to each local authority how they split the extra money.
While it is positive that this extra funding has been made available, it isn't enough to touch the sides of the funding shortfalls councils face this year. We will see more Section 114s despite extra money. The more fundamental issue is that this is yet another announcement of emergency money. We need a significant overhaul of how local government and adult social care are funded to deliver long-term sustainable care and support services to millions of people. We need long-term vision and funding, not sticking plasters.
You can read our full response here.
Social Care Funding Reform
Earlier this week the Health Foundation published an analysis of the different choices the next government will have to reform social care funding in England. The report outlines three funding options:
Free personal care along the lines of the Scottish model, would cost an additional £6bn in 2026/27 rising to £7bn by 2035/36.
A cap on costs, set at £86,000, would cost an additional £0.5bn in 2026/27, rising to around £3.5bn by 2035/36.
An NHS-style model of free, universal care, costing around £17bn more by 2035/36.
Compared to the NHS budget (£152bn) and total government expenditure (£557.5bn), the cost of each option is tiny and would bring massive benefits to society. This should be a spur for action by the next government. Difficulty in funding reform can no longer be used as an excuse for inaction.
Social Care Charities and Cyber Attacks
NCF and VODG have been commissioned by the Better Security, Better Care programme and Digital Care Hub to research the ways in which social care charities and not-for-profit organisations are particularly susceptible to cyber-attacks, and whether there are certain patterns/approaches that are used to target these organisations. The aim is to make recommendations for strengthening or targeting support for the sector. This project focuses particularly on social care which is frequently only considered alongside health.
Key to this work is hearing from providers that are charities/not-for-profit organisations. Their insights are vital to our work and will help shape key recommendations that will advance digital best practice in the sector.
Get involved by completing this Cybersecurity Survey today!
We are also looking for organisations to talk about their experience with cybersecurity as a charity/not-for-profit in social care. If you are willing to talk more in depth about this get in touch with Finn, one of the NCF’s policy research and projects officers via: finn.turner-berry@nationalcareforum.org.uk or VODG’s associate Peter Loose via peter.loose@vodg.org.uk.