• Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS) publishes new report on social care funding
• Report highlights growing demand as majority of respondents are not confident of meeting saving targets 
• We say that the additional £1 billion allocated for social care this year may only help to keep existing services going rather than providing additional capacity.

A report by the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS) has revealed the depth of concerns about the continuing squeeze on social care funding.

The ADASS budget survey shows that:

• The need for social care increased by 2.8 per cent in 2016
• By the end of the current financial year total cumulative savings in adult social care since 2010 will amount to over £6 billion
• Only 31 per cent of respondents were confident that planned savings for this year will be met, despite additional funding for social care of £1 billion announced in the spring budget

The chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said:

“The ADASS Budget Survey is a timely reminder of the pressures providers face in the social care and health systems. Demand is growing, costs are rising and following years of austerity, savings are difficult to achieve without compromising care.

“Our report Winter Warning, published yesterday, highlighted the worries of many NHS trusts that extra funding for social care – partly allocated to ease winter pressure on the health service – is not consistently getting through to the NHS.

The survey shows that the additional £1 billion allocated for social care this year may only help to keep existing services going rather than providing additional capacity.

“The findings from ADASS help explain why this is the case. The survey reveals widespread concerns among Directors of Adult Social Services about the scale of savings that will be required, even as funding for social care continues to grow as a proportion of council spending.

“The survey shows that the additional £1 billion allocated for social care this year may only help to keep existing services going rather than providing additional capacity. That is a problem for the NHS, which is why we have called for a funding injection of £350 million, committed by the end of July at the latest, distributed to those areas where social care funding will have little or no impact on the NHS.

“We also need a realistic and sustainable long term approach to funding health and social care and a comprehensive workforce strategy that takes account of what the NHS is being asked to deliver.”