Adult social care funding 'unsustainable', Norfolk County Council chief warns

The current funding of adult social care is unsustainable and urgent action is needed to address the issue, a senior councillor has warned.

The comment comes after the Local Government Association (LGA) today launched its own consultation on how to fund the sector in the future.

The government is expected to publish its own ideas on the issue this autumn.

But Bill Borrett, chairman of Norfolk County Council’s adult social care committee, says action is needed now and is backing the LGA's call for a full national debate on what should be done.

He said: “We need to help people live independently for as long as possible and to provide longer-term support for those with complex needs.

“However, this is not going to avoid the funding crisis in the longer term - the Government needs to take a national decision and look at how adult social care is funded.

“With rising demand due to people living longer, growing costs and reducing funding, the current model of adult social care is not sustainable in the future.”

The authority says it is currently spending £1 million a day providing care for 14,000 adults in Norfolk.

But it also estimates that the demand is likely to soar in the coming years with the proportion of the county's population aged 65 and over expected to rise by nearly a third to almost 275,000 by 2030.

The number of people aged 85 or over is also set to rise by 77 per cent in the same period.

The LGA is seeking public views on a variety of measures to generate more funding for adult social care, including raising council tax, income tax or National Insurance contributions.

Other ideas include means-testing benefits currently given to all pensioners, such as the winter fuel allowance and free TV licences for the over 75s, or the introduction of a new social care premium which would be charged to people aged over 40 and working pensioners.

Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “Work to find a long-term funding solution for adult social care and support has been kicked into the long grass by successive governments for the past two decades and has brought these services to breaking point.

“We cannot duck this issue as a society any longer.”

The LGA's survey is open until September 26. For more details, visit www.futureofadultsocialcare.co.uk.