LGA Conference: some councils see one-third of spending taken up by adult social care

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LGA Conference: some councils see one-third of spending taken up by adult social care

• Liberal Democrat Local Government spokesperson Vikki Slade has told the Local Government Association Conference today (23rd October) that councils face a "social care blackhole" in their finances
• Figures reveal that council’s are now spending £23.3 billion a year on adult social care - a 62% rise compared to 2015/16’s expenditure
• Some areas see adult social care taking up more than a third of council spending

Lib Dem Local Government spokesperson Vikki Slade has today warned of a social care blackhole in council finances at her speech to the Local Government Association Conference and called for cross party talks on social care with the Party revealing that some Local Authorities now see one-third of their expenditure taken up by adult social care.

It comes as many councils are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, much of it as a result of increases to social care costs, with the LGA estimating that councils now face a £6.2 billion funding gap over the next two years. 

The data from the House of Commons Library shows that there has been a 62% increase in council expenditure on adult social social care since 2015/16, with it rising by £8.9 billion, from £14.4 billion to 23.3 billion.

Kent currently spends the most on adult social care in England with a staggering £663 million, followed by Essex and Hampshire with £642 million and £560 million respectively. 

On average, councils now see a fifth of their entire expenditure swallowed up by social care, with 93% of councils seeing an increase in the proportion of their expenditure going to adult social care. In places like Suffolk, East Sussex and Devon it now equates to more than a third of these councils total spending. 

The major councils that have been hit the hardest by increases to spending on social care are Sandwell, which has experienced an 150% increase in spending to £129 million, Hull with a 131% jump to £114 million and East Riding of Yorkshire which saw a 111% increase to £166 million compared to 2015/16. Every single Council bar one has seen a rise of at least 16% in spending on adult social care costs.

The data also showed that average council spending per head on adult social care had risen to £496, up 53% on 2015/16’s figure of £324, a £172 per head increase. In Hull, close to £900 is now spent per person on adult social care, in Sandwell and Knowsley it stands at £828 and £809 respectively.

Increases in social care spend are also outstripping increases in spending on other services. Adult social care expenditure rose by 14% across all councils in 2023/24 compared with 9% for other services.

In her speech to the LGA Conference, Lib Dem Local Government spokesperson, Vikki Slade, warned of a social care blackhole in council budgets. She called on the government to begin cross party talks on social care to put the sector and council finances on a long term sustainable footing.

Liberal Democrat Local Government spokesperson, Vikki Slade MP said:

“Councils budgets are creaking under the weight of this social care blackhole and for many it is now moving from crisis to the point of collapse.

“The previous Conservative government's shameful neglect of the crisis in social care has pushed many councils to the edge of bankruptcy and left those in need of these vital services without the care they deserve. 

“It is now up to the new government to rise to this challenge and immediately begin cross-party talks on social care so we can put the sector and council finances on a long term sustainable footing that provides the care that people desperately need.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The data from the House of Commons Library can be found here.

LGA data showing that a £6.2 billion funding gap for councils can be found here.

First reported by the Mirror here.