The Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) has revealed an additional £200 million in funding, bringing the total to £880 million following the October Budget.

This extra funding, allocated as a ‘recovery grant,’ is specifically targeted at city and urban councils, which National Care Association (NCA) said is effectively creating a postcode lottery, adding: “Councils excluded from the ‘plan’ are likely to argue that they will be forced to make difficult and challenging decisions.”

In a statement the NCA said: “Part of this funding is intended to help local authorities meet their responsibilities as employers. However, it remains unclear how much, if any, of this amount will reach the frontline of social care to address obligations such as National Insurance Contributions. Once again, we are left with smoke and mirrors and an unhelpful sleight of hand!

“In the coming weeks, social care providers will need to make critical decisions about their options in response to the cost pressures they will face starting in April 2025. These increases may significantly impact their ability to sustain services. Both the NHS and local authorities must prepare for the potential reduction in support from homecare and care home providers within their local areas.”

Professor Vic Rayner chair of the Care Provider Alliance said: “Alarm bells continue to sound across adult social care in the face of the draft local government settlement. The recent survey by CPA demonstrated the massive cost of the Budget to social care services up and down the country.

“The cumulative cost of the changes in the Budget has been identified as 2.8 billion, yet the uplift identified in today’s draft settlement represents a mere 10% of the additional funding needed.

“The impact on people who need care and support, the care workforce and those delivering services is enormous, and it is imperative that the government pays heed to the very real risks that pursuing this path represents.

“Government led changes to the costs of delivering public services like social care must be met in full to ensure the provision of a care service fit for the future, as well as one that meets the needs of communities right now.”

Sam Monaghan, chief executive at Methodist Homes commented: “The government has acknowledged the need to increase funding for adult social care through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and this is a move in the right direction.

“However, the small amount of additional funding provided is not enough to protect adult social care services from the impact of the increased employer national insurance costs, nor cover the existing gap that remains between what it costs to deliver care, and what local authorities pay. These cost pressures present increased risk for the delivery of essential services for older people. 

“We want to work in partnership with the government and local authorities to solve the issues we are all facing, but this requires the government to recognise the adult social sector for the public service and valuable infrastructure that it is.

“We urge Ministers and officials in the Treasury to meet with sector representatives and provide protection for adult social care, otherwise government ambitions for growth and to address problems in the NHS will be in jeopardy.”