Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has made a statement on the final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25, making available up to £64.7 billion for local authorities in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion, or 7.5% in cash terms, on 2023-24.
The funding package for councils includes the £600 million in extra support to bolster council budgets, including £500 million for social care, announced on 24 January. This support was announced following the consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement.
The Levelling Up Secretary said:
"I am confirming an additional £500 million for social care services, as announced on 24 January. This will be allocated through the Social Care Grant, which is ringfenced for adult and children’s social care. Together with the additional funding proposed at the provisional Settlement, local authorities can therefore make use of a total of £8.7 billion in grant funding for social care through the 2024-25 Settlement, including £1.5 billion in additional grant compared to 2023-24. This is made up of:
- £5 billion through the Social Care Grant, a £1.2 billion increase on 2023-24, including £500 million additional funding as announced on 24 January;
- £1.1 billion through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, a £123 million increase on 2023-24;
- £500 million through the Discharge Fund, a £200 million increase to the local authority component on 2023-24; and
- £2.1 billion through the improved Better Care Fund.
- While being mindful of pressures in adult social care, where possible councils should use the uplift to the Social Care Grant to invest in areas that help place children’s social care services on a sustainable financial footing. This includes investment in expanding family help and targeted early intervention, expanding kinship care, and boosting the number of foster carers. The Government is committed to delivering substantive reform to children’s social care. That is why in 2023 we published our strategy for reform, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, and over these next two years we will lay the foundations for wide reaching reform across the whole system. The strategy is backed by £200 million additional investment in the current Spending Review period, so that we can begin making progress immediately."
As part of the settlement, councils are also able to increase council tax by up to 3% without a local referendum, with a further 2% for those responsible for adult social care services.
