Councils will need to spend £6.1bn per year more in 2025 on adult social care services compared to what they were spending a decade ago, figures reveal.
The figures, which have been published in a County Councils Network-commissioned report by PwC, also reveal the extent to which large, often rural, county authorities are exposed by the care crisis.
England’s 36 county authorities are responsible for £2.9bn of the £6.1bn figure – just under half of the total of all 152 social care authorities.
These county councils will be spending £2.1bn more in 2025 compared to what they are presently spending in 2019 and this will just be to keep services ‘standing still’.
Cllr David Williams, CCN spokesman for health and social care, said: ‘This is not only a local issue; it is a national issue and a topic successive Governments have been unable to find the answer to.’
‘The report shows beyond doubt that the current situation is plainly unsustainable,’ he continued.
‘Whilst we recognise the political stasis owing to Brexit, we urge the government to publish its green paper to kickstart a national conversation.
‘Ministers should not shirk the difficult questions as to how and who should pay for care.’
