The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published its guidance around the determined social care grant allocations for the next year.
Existing to support local authorities across England as they provide social care services for children and adults, with Local Government Minister Simon Hoare holding the responsibility for deciding how much support authorities will receive. Overall, just over £5 billion has been committed, with the only local authorities that are eligible for funding being ones that have a responsibility for social care funding.
The largest allocation of funding will be granted to Birmingham City Council, which will receive almost £140 million, whilst Essex County Council and Lancashire County Council will benefit from around £118 million and £123 million respectively. Some of the funding highlights include:
- Birmingham - £138,629,920
- Essex - £117,808,694
- Lancashire - £123,054,556
- Manchester - £65,772,736
- Norfolk - £87,505,590
The City of London and the Isles of Scilly, the two smallest areas receiving funding for social care provision are both to receive less than £1 million of investment each.
Authorities will receive the funding in monthly payments, with the guidance specifying that it must only be used to meet adult and children social care needs, with this leading to the recipient providing written confirmation to the government that the funding has only been used on that. The government has also outlined how authorities must continue to maintain internal financial controls, with any suspected financial irregularities needing to be reported to the Department immediately.
Should any of the above conditions not be met, funding may be suspended or withheld by the Secretary of State.
This investment is vital to enable local authorities to support the most vulnerable in their communities, especially as the cost of living crisis continues to be an issue for many, Additional support for authorities is also necessary as councils around the country struggle to meet the social care demand that they are faced with.
Image credit: iStock
