Council care services at “significant risk of collapse”, leaders warn

Plans in the Budget to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will place some care providers under “insurmountable” pressure, according to Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).

Speaking at the recent National Children and Adult Services Conference in Liverpool, Ms Williams warned that some councils will now have to consider further rationing care.

Several providers have already said they will stop providing care in certain areas or cease operating completely because activities are no longer cost effective.

Commenting on the situation, Councillor David Fothergill, social care spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), said: “Councils are facing unprecedented financial challenges, with the increases to employer NICs likely to add significant costs for councils and the wider sector. These pressures, compounded by inflation, demography and National Living Wage rises, are putting vital services at significant risk of collapse.

“Councils are reporting the likelihood of further cuts to core services and severe strain on health and care systems, including redundancies and providers handing back contracts.

“Immediate Government funding is essential to protect these services and ensure councils can continue to fulfil their vital role in supporting communities.”

While councils’ direct employees and the NHS will be exempt from NIC increases, social care providers, which supply most of the care they commission, will not.

These costs will be passed on to councils which will put increasing pressure on adult social care budgets. Some 81 per cent of councils already overspent on adult social care last year.

Ms Williams added: “We cannot vision for a tomorrow when the cost of today has become so insurmountable. The Budget had catastrophic impacts on the cost of adult social care. Not just for local government, but also for our partners who support people in their neighbourhoods and in the voluntary and community sector.”