Efficiency gains fail to fill black hole Councils in England expect to make £177m of efficiency gains in adult social services this year, but say it is not enough to fill a funding black hole.

Only in local authority corporate services has more money been saved than in adult social services, government figures have revealed.

But despite the savings, a report released this week claims government funding for social care still falls well short of need.

The report, by the Association of Directors of Social Services, and the Local Government Association, among others, says government predictions of council spending on adult social services were £800m less than needed. It says councils are trying to generate efficiencies to cover the gap by cutting backroom staff and focusing on prevention but the pressure on services is growing faster than authorities can make savings.

Several councils plan to make no efficiency gains in adult social services next year, while Kent expects to save £10m, the highest for any authority. Suffolk comes in second, with expected savings of £8.5m.

Children's services in England are making £75m of savings this year, social housing £71m, Supporting People £28m and homelessness £10m.