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LGA responds to Public Accounts Committee report on Health and Social Care Integration
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to the Public Accounts Committee’s report on Health and Social Care integration
“Councils are determined to do all they can to ensure that exceptional, joined up, person-centred care and support is delivered in their communities, but with adult social care now consuming almost 40 per cent of council budgets and facing a shortfall in funding of £3.5 billion by 2025, the need for a long-term funding plan for adult social care has never been so urgent – the Government must either outline this in the upcoming budget, or the green paper on social care.
“The Government’s social care green paper must set out that long-term plan, and build on the progress set out in the recent allocation of £240 million allocated to support social care departments and reduce pressures on the health service. With the sector having offered multiple solutions for the social care crisis and the LGA publishing its own green paper for care, the options are on the table – we now need to see action being taken by government to secure long-term funding for social care.
“It’s important that integration is not seen as an end in itself but as a means to achieving better services and health and wellbeing outcomes, which is why local leadership, across local government and the NHS, is crucial to making sure that health and social care work most effectively for the communities they serve. We also need to make sure that national targets and conditions do not divert attention from the support that locally-led solutions, and a long-term funding plan, could provide for residents who need care.
“If we are to deliver the most effective integration between health and social care possible, it’s essential that funding for both health services and social care is secured on a long-term basis, and that local health and care leaders are given the space, resources and time to deliver appropriate solutions for the communities they serve.”