Councils given £15.5m funding to help implement social care reforms

by Aysha Gilmore
in 151 News · Social care
— 16 Jun, 2022

The government has provided £15.5m of funding to local authorities to help them prepare for the adult social care reforms due to be implemented in October 2023.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) introduced the funding yesterday (15 June) for councils to hire additional staff, prepare their workforce and recruit IT staff to help implement the reforms.

This is the first portion of funding for councils, and additional support will be introduced later. The DHSC said that the “funding will be allocated evenly between the authorities with area cost adjustments applied, following a consultation with the sector”.

Gillian Keegan, minister of care, said: “Our charging reforms will mean no one will have to face unpredictable and often catastrophic care costs and this new funding will help local authorities to implement these vital changes.”

The adult social care reforms were introduced to change how social care is paid for and include a cap on care costs of £86,000 and a more generous means test.

“We’re working closely with local authorities, providers and care receivers to deliver a smooth transition into the new system to end unpredictable cost of care for the public,” added Keegan.

The DHSC also said that an additional £2.9m of funding will be distributed across five trailblazer local authorities to cover the costs of implementing the new charging reform system early in 2023 ahead of a national rollout in October 2023.

These local authorities are: City of Wolverhampton Council, Blackpool Council, Cheshire East Council, Newham Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

The funding follows a report by the County Council Network in May, which stated that councils in England may have to pay £10bn more than the government estimated to implement the adult social care reforms.