ADASS survey reveals 81 per cent of councils are on course to overspend adult social care budget
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has released its Autumn Survey for 2024, highlighting the growing challenges that councils face in improving social care amid financial pressures.
The annual 2024 Autumn Survey is sent to every director of Adult Social Services within the 153 councils in England with social care responsibilities, and works to identify challenges across the sector.
Published just one week after the Chancellor delivered the Budget, this new report, published yesterday, highlights that adult social care financial pressures are intensifying and that things are going to “get worse before they get better”, according to ADASS president Melanie Williams. The increase in national insurance and the national living wage, she says, means that the cost of care is set to rise in due course as a result.
ADASS findings reveal that 81 per cent of councils are on course to overspend their adult social care budget in the current financial year, up just under 10 per cent from 72 per cent in 2023/24. In addition, 35 per cent of councils are being asked and required to scrimp and save, up from 19 per cent in 2022.
The report reveals that despite needs becoming more complex and costs growing, even more savings are being planned for 2024/25 and 2025/26, the latter of which are estimated to increase by 55 per cent to £1.4bn. It is now expected to be even harder for councils to invest in workforce, prevention and unpaid carers.
As announced by Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock, the government aims to shift health and social care from sickness to prevention, for which major investment will be necessary in order to ease the pressure on councils.
Amongst respondents to the Autumn Survey, directors have a good understanding of how prevention can reduce care needs and support people to live well, according to ADASS.
Many rated financial barriers and competing service pressures, such as delayed discharge, as the most significant barriers to implementing the preventative activities that will help more people live healthier and more independently for longer.
ADASS highlights that having social care professionals work alongside health colleagues, workforce planning for allied health professionals, and enough physios and occupational therapists in hospitals is crucial for implementing prevention. But this means investment into the NHS is needed.
Melanie Williams, President of ADASS, commented: “We welcome government commitments to multi-year funding settlements for councils and a review of Carers Allowance. A 10-year plan for the NHS that is cognisant of social care and Fair Pay Agreements for care workers are important steps to improving the sustainability of the sector in the longer term.
“At the same time, we acknowledge that those measures will not impact significantly on the financial health of our 153 councils. In our Spring Survey we described the financial situation in adult social care to be ‘as bad as it has been in recent history.
“Adult social care at its best transforms lives. It enables millions of us to live the lives we want to lead, where we want to live. Investment in health and adult social care should not be seen as a cost to the public purse, but instead crucial to our economy’s growth and productivity.
“We extend our gratitude to ADASS members and their staff for sharing their insights, and to our Policy and Communications teams, and Trustees whose collective expertise has made this report possible.
“We look forward to working with the Government, councils, and all those dedicated to transforming adult social care in England.”
In response to the survey, Councillor David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “At its best, adult social care supports adults of all ages to live the life they want to lead. But as this vital report highlights, a range of serious concerns that councils have been raising for years remain and a vast majority of councils are now struggling to balance the books.
“Immediate adequate investment is needed in order to address unmet and under-met need and ensure timely access to social care for all who need it.”
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, commented: “This report is a blunt warning that adult social care is buckling under relentless financial pressures. Providers and local authorities are wrestling with soaring demand and unsustainable costs, trying to deliver essential services within a funding framework that simply does not meet the needs of our communities.
“While the Government may have pledged support, the lack of tangible action leaves a gaping billion pound hole in the sector’s funding.
“Recent budgetary decisions add to this burden, creating an environment where both councils and providers are set up to fail and unable to invest in the preventive and community-based services essential to reducing hospital admissions, supporting timely discharges, and ultimately allowing people to live well.
“Without immediate, targeted support, next year will be one of the hardest years faced. This is no longer just a policy issue; it’s a pressing societal and economic concern worsened by the Treasury who must act now to prevent sector wide collapse.”
Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at Leonard Cheshire, said: “A continued lack of adequate social care funding will leave disabled and older people without vital support in the year ahead and may cost lives.
“This stark report once again spells out the urgent need to stabilise adult social care, with 81 per cent of councils on course to overspend on their budgets for this in the current financial year alone.
“Instead of alleviating the financial pressures on adult social care, the Autumn Budget has exacerbated them. The increases in care workers’ wages and employer national insurance contributions cannot be absorbed by non-profit providers or council budgets, piling on yet more financial pressure.
“The Government must urgently meet the rising cost of care incurred by the Autumn Budget with an uplift in ring-fenced funding that reflects the real costs of adult social care.”
Kathryn Smith, Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE): “The foundations for a robust National Care Service are currently unstable.
“Whilst the review of Carers Allowance and the introduction of a Fair Pay Agreement are significant steps forward, social care runs as a golden thread through many of the Government’s ambitions.
“Refocusing the system from sickness to prevention and hospital to community, as well as the success of the 10-year health plan, are all contingent upon a healthy, thriving social care sector.
“This starts with reviewing the current funding frameworks, such as the Better Care Fund, and funding settlements.
“Beyond funding, we need to find new ways to deliver social care more efficiently and effectively, such as through new care models and digital innovation.
“The spreading and scaling of innovation create new avenues for stabilising the sector. One example is digital solutions that provide local information and support to unpaid carers. We stand ready to work with the Government to help deliver their vision for the social care sector and drive the change required.”
Dr Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) which represents over 100 disability charities says: “‘The latest evidence from local government Directors commissioning social care, reiterates the stark reality facing providers – essential services, relied upon by millions of people, are under threat due to a lack of central government funding.
“It is a sign of a broken system when councils are overspending by over £560m a year on social care and in turn underfunding third sector organisations delivering essential care and support.”
Read the full report here.
