62% of adult social care leaders are dubious they can deliver reforms to government’s timetable

A recent survey from the Local Government Association (LGA) shows that nearly all adult social care council leaders in England are not confident that UK Government funding earmarked for the reforms is sufficient to deliver them.

The insightful survey, conducted in June 2022 by the LGA, assesses council leaders’ levels of confidence about the upcoming adult social care reforms.

In September 2021, the government announced a UK-wide 1.25 percent Health and Social Care Levy. Based on National Insurance contributions, the levy provides ringfenced funding for health and social care. It was introduced in April 2022.

Following this, in the government’s long-awaited ‘People at the Heart of Care’ adult social care reform whitepaper, the paper highlighted that from 2022 to 2025, government will provide £3.6 billion to reform the social care charging system.

One of the most important reforms to the social care charging system is a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime. It will be introduced in October 2023. This reform will apply to everyone universally, including both new entrants to the social care system and existing users, without exemption. Find out more about the charging reforms here.

On the back of these major social care reforms, research and surveys have been conducted to ascertain the sector’s thoughts on them, giving people the chance to make important recommendations.

From 6-23 June 2022, LGA surveyed 152 councils with responsibility for adult social care in England online. A total of 80 lead members for adult social care replied.

Disregarding future reforms, 78 percent of respondents were very or fairly confident in their council’s ability to meet existing statutory duties in adult social care, compared to 21 percent who were not very or not at all confident.

The aspects of the reforms which respondents expressed the greatest confidence in being able to deliver was adult social care assurance, just over half said they were very or fairly confident in their council’s ability to deliver within the government’s timetable.

The aspect of the reforms which respondents were least confident in implementing to the government’s timetable was Section 18(3) of the Care Act, whereby self-funders can ask their council to arrange their care at the rate the council pays. Two-thirds said they were not very or not at all confident in delivering this aspect of the reforms.

Thinking about all elements of the reforms, 62 percent of respondents were not very or not at all confident in their council’s ability to deliver the programme to the government’s timetable.

An overwhelming 98 percent of respondents were not very or not at all confident that the government funding earmarked for the adult social care reforms is sufficient to deliver them.

Looking at confidence in staffing levels for implementing reforms, 81 percent felt they have enough senior leaders, 53 percent felt they have enough service managers or supervisors, while three-quarters believe they do not have enough capacity in terms of social workers and financial assessment officers.

Taking into account the wider health and care reforms, 59 percent of respondents were not very or not at all confident in their council’s ability to deliver everything the government is asking of them in the coming year.

Some suggestions were made as to which areas of reforms should be delayed. Almost nine in 10 respondents thought that some or all of the adult social care reforms should be delayed.

The reform which the most respondents thought should be delayed, at nearly two-thirds of respondents, was Section 18(3) of the Care Act, whereby self-funders can ask their council to arrange their care at the rate the council pays.

Respondents’ comments focused on the difficulty of acquiring the necessary staff capacity for the reforms; the significant additional expenditure which the reforms are likely to require; the potential impact on other council services of delivering the reforms; and the simultaneous difficulties imposed by rising demand from deprivation, the ageing population, the rising cost of living and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full survey here.