“Today’s Spending Review for 2015-16 delivered another round of cuts for Local Authorities with 10% being trimmed from their budgets. However, it did contain some good news with additional funds being put aside to help with the introduction of the proposed care reforms and the new national minimum eligibility threshold being confirmed.
“The additional funding will certainly be welcomed by local authorities who are already reorganising services to improve efficiency and deliver savings. However, with adult social care needs continuing to grow, further savings will still need to be made.
“The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has suggested that 25% of people who fund their own care deplete their assets prematurely, falling back on the state at an estimated cost of almost £500 million a year in England alone.
“However, by ensuring that this group of people are referred to independent, regulated financial advice, it could mean that local authorities are protected from this liability.
“It is therefore essential that referral to independent, regulated financial advice is included as part of the Care Bill so that people can be informed of how best to pay for their care needs. Our research demonstrates that only 15% of people would seek advice from a financial adviser - this has to be addressed now.”
Key Spending Review Clauses:
• Make £335 million available to local authorities in 2015/16 so that they can prepare for reforms to the system of social care funding, including the introduction of the cap on care costs from April 2016 and a universal offer of deferred payment agreements from April 2015 – page 7
• This is under pinned by a new national minimum eligibility threshold for social care, set at the level operated by the vast majority of local authorities in the current system. This suggests that it will be set at ‘substantial needs’ - page 35
• In addition, The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that they would put “£3.8billion into a pooled budget for health and social care services to work more closely together in local areas, in order to deliver better services to older and disabled people – page 6”
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