Government to announce £240m emergency social care funding

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock will today announce an extra £240m for social care to help ease NHS pressure this winter.

The cash injection, which will be announced during the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, will be used for housing adaptations and care packages, the BBC reported.

Mr Hancock will say: “We will use this money to get people who don’t need to be in hospital, but do need care, back home, back into their communities, so we can free up those vital hospital beds.

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“And help people who really need it get the hospital care they need.”

The funding could be used to buy up to 71,500 domestic care packages or 86,500 reablement packages, Mr Hancock will say.

Martin Green, CEO of Care England, told CHP: “Whilst any new money is welcome for social care, it is vital that the Government ensures this money reaches front line care providers and is not swallowed up by either health, or local authorities. This money is no substitute for a long-term and sustainable funding solution for social care.”

Cllr David Williams, County Councils Network spokesman for health and social care, and leader of Hertfordshire County Council, added: “We welcome the government’s recognition of the County Councils Network’s calls for additional resources and this will help councils continue their impressive record in working innovatively to reduce delayed discharges from hospitals and ensure that patients do not stay in hospital longer than they need to.

“However, this one-off, in-year funding cannot underpin ongoing resourcing and workforce strategies and perpetuates a trend of short-termism we have seen from successive governments when it comes to adult social care. With the 36 county authorities in the CCN membership facing a funding black hole of £1.4bn next year, further injection of funding for all services will be required for the next financial year in excess of what councils will receive from today’s announcement.

“CCN has long argued for a more preventative focus in any health and social care reform, and today’s announcement is a recognition that there needs to be a broader focus than just supporting those in crisis. However, councils need a long-term solution. How we fund social care, as well as how we protect individuals from huge care costs, must be outlined in the forthcoming social care Green Paper. Above all, if system reform is to be successfully implemented, then councils need to be at the heart of change.”