“But we do know that councils will rely on council tax and business rates for more of their funding going forwards. And those revenues just don’t look like they will keep pace with the rising costs of services like adult social care – even with council tax bills going up at 4 per cent a year, which is double the rate of inflation.
“That means finding billions more in funding to top up existing local tax revenues, even before thinking about new initiatives like free personal care.”
The social care funding issue has been dragging on for the past years until the government announced in the Queen’s Speech last month (October 14) that it will introduce changes to social care to "ensure dignity in old age".
This was after prime minister Boris Johnson pledged urgent action on the issue in his first speech in office.
But besides a planned 2 per cent precept that will enable councils to access a further £500m, no detail was given on what would be included as part of the proposals.
Secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick explained last month (October 29) that while the government was committed to bringing forward proposals on adult social care, there was no timetable as to when these proposals will be introduced.
The long-awaited social care green paper also remains to be seen, although health secretary Matt Hancock has previously suggested the paper may be scrapped in favour of immediate legislation as the government focused on finding a solution to the problem rather than to discuss it further.
The original rationale for a green paper was to explore the issue of how social care is funded by individuals.
amy.austin@ft.com
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