A six per cent increase in council tax hurts those who are just about managing the most, writes deputy leader of Bolton council Linda Thomas

Although the latest announcement now acknowledges the crisis that they denied in the autumn statement, the government’s solution is plain wrong because it shifts the burden of their failed austerity policy yet again onto the shoulders of local people. The government is shirking their national responsibility. Local people already pay for adult social care provision through their income tax and existing council tax.

If the National Health Service had been cut as extensively as social care in recent years there would have been national outrage. Adult social care is the poor relation when it comes to funding and the two per cent council tax precept the government has allowed us to implement fails to fill the funding void.

Unfortunately there is a lack of public understanding of how the underfunding of social care impacts directly on the NHS and how continuing in this trajectory will ultimately make the NHS unsustainable.

The largest demographic rise nationally is in over 75 year olds, many of whom have complex conditions. As a needs let service this places great pressure on an already reducing service. Councils delivering adult social care are very concerned about the viability of their services overall with increased demand for care and rising costs threatening the delivery of universal services in general.

Every penny that is not spent on adult social care creates an extra cost to our NHS. Failure to support those who need care in our communities could see more frail and elderly people unnecessarily admitted to hospitals – a choice we know they and their families do not want. We believe it is much better to provide the care they need in their communities where they feel safe, get well faster, support care homes and care workers.

Adult social care in the UK faces a funding gap of £1.3bn by the end of the decade. This will result in people being deprived of the right care and ending up relying more on expensive NHS hospital services.

Over the last six years the emphasis has been placed on integration of health and social care, with health and wellbeing boards acting as system leaders. But it could be argued that this direction of travel is guilty of deflecting attention away from the underlying issue, as initiatives such as the Better Care Fund – which is not new money – transfer NHS funding to underpin social care. This cannot secure sustainable social care or reduce pressure on the NHS.

Meanwhile, the introduction of the national living wage must be applauded in this underrated and often undervalued sector, but the reality is the two per cent council tax rise barely fills the funding void.

Councils are great innovators and so there are excellent examples of delivering services differently to reduce costs. Some have gone for establishing arm’s length adult social care companies and some have transferred their adult social care to the NHS, creating one service.

However, whichever way a council proceeds the funding route for the social care element still comes through the revenue support grant and so we will have to continue to ask for a larger share of the cake for social care.

There is an urgency for an injection of funds to ensure we can continue to deliver for the most vulnerable in our communities. This additional six per cent council tax imposition over two years helps very little and penalises those who are just about managing even further – the people the prime minister advocates need help the most.

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Linda Thomas is deputy leader of Bolton council. She tweets at @CllrLindaThomas

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