On Monday the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced in the budget that the government is giving local authorities an extra £650 million to spend on social care. However, only £240 million of this is ring fenced for adult social care. Councils will make the decision as to whether the remaining £410 million with go to either adult social care or children’s services.
Mike Padgham, Chair of the Independent Care Group, has said:-
“It goes nowhere near addressing the funding gap on social care, expected to be £3.5bn within seven years and the £7bn that has been cut from social care spending in the past eight years.”
Philip Hammond announced that “the era of austerity is finally coming to an end” and called the budget one for “strivers, the grafters and the carers who are the backbone of our communities and our economy”.
