Calls for Liz Truss to deliver her promise of £13bn to social care and make it 'fighting fit'

The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Independent Care Group (ICG) are calling on the Prime Minister to deliver the £13 billion pledged to tackle the crisis in adult social care as part of her leadership campaign.

It comes as Health and Social Care Secretary Thérèse Coffey announced a £500 million social care discharge fund earlier this week to free up hospital beds and help fix the social care crisis.

The LGA says that six billion of this funding is needed immediately to increase care worker pay, meet demography and inflation pressures and stabilise the provider market. The rest of the £13 billion is also needed urgently to ensure councils are able to deliver on all of their statutory duties under the Care Act.

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board said: “The new PM can make a dramatic improvement to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by delivering on this promise.

“This injection of funds is exactly what the sector needs to come back fighting fit and ensure it is stable and effective in these turbulent times.

“Social care’s lack of capacity to deliver the care that people need to live their life is being seen in higher waiting lists and people not getting the care they need, with impacts on the NHS. The government needs to step in now.

“If it doesn’t, we can expect one of the most challenging winters in recent times, with severe knock-on effects that will continue to significantly impact on people and their loved ones.”

'We need total root and branch reform'

Questions have been raised by the ICG as to where the extra funding to raise the £13bn will be coming from now the Health and Social Care Levy has been axed.

Ahead of the mini-budget, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed yesterday that the tax hike, introduced to pay for social care and tackle the NHS backlog, will be reversed from 6 November.

Mike Padgham, chair of ICG said: “Unless we get proper funding and reform there will be no home care workers to look after people when they are discharged from hospital or care and nursing homes for those who need round-the-clock care.”

The ICG is calling on the government to make a “fresh, bold new start on tackling the crisis” in social care.

“There is plenty of expertise available in social care ready and willing to work in partnership with the government to solve the problems and we urge the new administration to work with us, urgently, to find solutions.

“We need total root and branch reform to provide a properly-funded, sustainable social care service for everyone and proper funding to recognise and reward care staff and to tackle the critical staff shortages that are crippling the delivery of care."”