New research into adult social care funding published

A new formula to be used with the Local Government Finance Settlement has been proposed under the Review of Adult Social Care Needs Formulae.

Commissioned and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2012, the Review was produced by the University of Kent, the London School of Economics and LG Futures.

It set out to consider the changes in the various services delivered by local authorities to their residents with specific care needs, reflecting the improvements made in both data collection and statistical methods.

Within the local government finance settlement, the research proposes a new formula to be used, which will be considered as part of the government’s review into Local Authority relative needs and resources. This is led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Also included in the research was separate formulae for dividing budgets for four particular aspects of the Care Act 2014.

These are:

• Deferred payment agreements
• Early assessments for the cap on care costs
• Extension to the means test
• Cap on care costs

It’s important to note that as the formulae were commissioned in 2012, they may be subject to revision following the publication of the forthcoming adult social care green paper.

The Review can be accessed here.