A five-year commitment to transform health and long-term care (LTC) funding is urgently needed to avoid the care system ‘spiraling towards a deeper crisis', council leaders have warned.
Local Government Association (LGA) analysis revealed councils will have to spend around 40% of overall budgets on services for older and vulnerable people by 2020, rising 13% faster than any other service.
Plans to integrate health and social care money, will come into effect in April 2015 and are being agreed by local authorities and health partners.
Local areas have already pooled £5.4 billion in local Better Care Fund plans for 2015/16, 40% more than the £3.8 billion minimum required by the Department of Health.
However, the LGA is warning a larger Better Care Fund is needed for a five-year period and alongside this, a separate transformation fund is needed to ease the initial impact of the changes. This should come with clear targets to deliver change.
This comes as many councils have had to reduce adult social care budgets by £2.68 billion over the last three years.
Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, said:"We are all responsible for making sure that we have a care system that is fit for the 21st century. No one is saying this will be easy.
"There is less money in the system for everyone, but joining up funding will present opportunities to transform and improve the lives of those using health and care services over the medium and long term at a lower cost."
