Efficiency gains fail to fill black hole

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.