Care England Comments: LGA Autumn Statement Submission

Care England has today welcomed the Local Government Association’s Autumn Statement representation, published here.

The Local Government Association has written to the Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to outline that councils are under intense financial pressure; councils face ongoing inflationary and pay pressures alongside spiking demand and market challenges.

Of particular significance, the Local Government Association estimated in July 2023 that councils were facing funding gaps of £2.0 billion in 2023/24 and £900 million in 2024/25. But following an updated inflation forecast from the Bank of England in August, updated analysis now shows funding gaps of £2.4 billion in 2023/24 and £1.6 billion in 2024/25.

In response, Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:

“These new figures make for incredibly worrying reading. These gaps relate solely to the funding needed to maintain services at their current levels. In other words, councils do not even have the ability to stand still. Standing still is not an option for the adult social care sector. We need to move towards future-proofing our sector in light of growing demand and years of historic underfunding. At present, care providers are bearing the brunt of these implications. Although the call for the Government to invest more money into local government is a simplistic one, it is the only answer to these mounting pressures.”