Pooled funding to benefit older people

Three-quarters of the 66 local area agreements due to be signed today (Thursday) contain outcomes on social care, and all but two have targets on promoting older people’s independence.

Care services minister Liam Byrne was due to announce the findings at an adult social care conference in London yesterday. He was also expected to say that £34m would be ploughed into joint health and social care projects at the 33 LAAs that had been subject to closer analysis.

LAAs enable councils to pool government funding streams in pursuit of targets agreed with the government. They are seen as a key mechanism for delivering the white paper on health and social care.