The need to achieve savings could hinder councils' abilities to fully personalise care, the public spending watchdog has warned.
In a new report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) claimed users’ outcomes would be ‘adversely affected’ as funding cuts and wage pressures within the sector continued to mount.
The committee called for ‘stronger measures’ to safeguard the interests of adults receiving personal budgets and made recommendations to the Department of Health to tell local authorities and providers clearly what high-quality and proportionate support looks like and how much it costs.
Committee chair Meg Hillier said: ‘Personal budgets have great potential but the interests of users are paramount and must be protected.
‘In this time of real funding pressures, central government must work with local authorities to safeguard the market for social care, including assessing the impact of the National Living Wage and other factors on provision.’
The report highlighted the fragile nature of the social care market in many parts of the country and warned of a ‘real threat’ that many care providers would not survive.
