Spending Review: Limited boost in social care funding

Local councils will receive a £2bn boost in social care funding by 2015, the Chancellor announced this week in the Comprehensive Spending Review. But the increase may be cancelled out because of a rapidly ageing population and large cuts to council funding.

Mr Osborne hopes that the £2bn increase will help shield social care from the large drop in council revenue.

The Director of Age UK, Michelle Mitchell, is not yet convinced. "It is unclear whether the extra £2bn for social care will represent a rise in spending in real terms, given the swingeing cut of 26% to government funding for councils," she told The Guardian.

Councils currently receive £14.4bn for social care, the largest slice of their funding. But the new money is not ring-fenced, leading to concerns it could be used to plug gaps caused by the cuts.

The Liberal Democrat Minister for Care Services, Paul Burstow, insisted there was no excuse for local authorities to “slash and burn”. He told Community Care that the new cash gives councils “the wherewithal to meet demographic pressures.”

But many others worry whether this money can maintain services, even at current levels. The £2bn increase represents only a 3.3% annual rise in the social care budget.

Figures from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services – Adass – suggest more is needed. They say the budget must rise by 4% annually to keep pace with growing demand.

Universal benefits for older people will remain in place. The Chancellor confirmed that services like winter fuel payments, cold weather payments and free bus passes will all continue. Free TV licences for the over 75s will also remain.