A cross-party think tank has urged the Government to remove social care costs from English council budgets, arguing this would pave the way for fairer property taxation and better-funded care services.
A new report from the Social Market Foundation finds that taking social care out of council budgets would cut average council tax bills by around £356 per household, with the largest reductions in the South West (£413) and smallest in London (£243).
Adult social care for over-65s cost roughly £9.2bn in 2024/25, about 22% of total council tax receipts, leaving many councils struggling to fund other services.
The report argues the change would be progressive, since areas with lower property values tend to spend a higher proportion of council tax income on care.
The findings come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham examines options for reforming social care funding nationally.
Barney Dowling, Researcher at Social Market Foundation, said: ‘Councils budgets should be responsible for resident services and local amenities, while the social care burden should be shared across the country more fairly and risk can be pooled more widely. Our research shows how to maximise the political feasibility of reform, by minimising the share of households that may have to pay substantially more.’
