Councils are facing a ‘social care blackhole’ in their finances, according to the Liberal Democrats.

Speaking at the Local Government Conference in Harrogate yesterday, local government spokesperson Vikki Slade said adult social care accounted for one-third of council spending at £23.3bn a year up by 62% compared with 2015/16.

Slade said: ‘Councils' budgets are creaking under the weight of this social care blackhole and for many it is now moving from crisis to the point of collapse.

‘It is now up to the new Government to rise to this challenge and immediately begin cross-party talks on social care so we can put the sector and council finances on a long term sustainable footing that provides the care that people desperately need.’

The House of Commons Library data showed Kent spends the most on adult social care in England at £663m, followed by Essex and Hampshire with £642m and £560m, respectively.

On average, councils now see a fifth of their entire expenditure swallowed up by social care, with 93% seeing the proportion of spending rise. In such as Suffolk, East Sussex and Devon it now equates to more than a third of spending.

Sandwell, which has experienced an 150% increase in spending to £129m, Hull saw a 131% jump to £114m and East Riding of Yorkshire saw a 111% increase to £166m compared to 2015/16. Every single council bar one had seen a rise of at least 16% in spending.

The data also showed that average council spending per head on adult social care had risen to £496, up 53% on 2015/16’s figure of £324, a £172 per head increase. In Hull, close to £900 is now spent per person on adult social care, in Sandwell and Knowsley it stands at £828 and £809, respectively.

Increases in social care spend are also outstripping increases in spending on other services. Expenditure rose by 14% across all councils in 2023/24 compared with 9% for other services.

The data release came after the LGA revealed one in four councils are likely to need an emergency government bailout in the next two financial years.

This article first appeared on Healthcare Management.