Finance

Knowsley Council continues to deal with significant budgetary cuts in line with Government spending reductions. The model of Adult Social Care Services and support must adapt and evolve to continue meeting local needs and deliver a modern and progressive care model, all whilst funding for the sector remains uncertain. In addition, we know that Adult Social Care is changing nationally and locally due to demographic changes, increased levels of need and changing expectations of those who need care and support.

Ensuring quality services for our residents requires a re-think in the way we do business including working in partnership with the community, partners, and providers to reduce longer term reliance on public sector funded services.

We expect providers to work with us to ensure adult social care services are sustainable and can support our local population into the future. We need to continue to focus on early intervention and prevention-based models of care that can meet needs sooner, avoiding or delaying the need for more acute and costly services.

The Government’s austerity budgeting has resulted in a 63% loss in funding to Liverpool City Council, equivalent to £433m from 2010 to date. The health and care system continues to face unprecedented financial challenge, which drives the need for both commissioners and providers to deliver improved productivity and to ensure that resources are targeted as effectively as possible to maximise value. In 2020-2021, an additional £57.6m worth of savings will need to be made from across the Local Authority, £10m of which will come from the Adult Social Care budget.

Liverpool City Council’s spend on Adult Social Care in 2019-20 was £134,490,048. We currently spend over 70% of this budget on tenure-based care – where an individual’s care is linked to the place that they live. Whilst this works well for some, we are confident that we can improve people’s choice and experience of care by spending differently.

The 2020-2021 budget for Adult Social Care is £199,820,069; the budget allocation is reflective of our shift towards commissioning and supporting models of care that enable people to maintain living in their own homes and communities as independently as possible, with a choice of care and support that meets their needs, which we will continue to work on over the next five years

The total gross revenue budget for Adult Social Care in 2020/21 is £153.3million. It receives income of £58.6 million, resulting in a net budget of £94.7 million.
Just over £107.7m of the gross budget is allocated to the commissioning of care packages with 50% being allocated to Residential and Nursing Care provision.
Central government funding to Sefton has reduced by 51% compared to 2010. It is anticipated that it will continue to cost more to simply maintain services at their current level on the basis that prices are going up and demand for services is increasing as the population grows. The council will continue to protect
the most vulnerable people i.e. those who have complex care needs with no capacity to care for themselves and no other networks of support. However, it will be looking to residents and communities to do more for themselves and help one another. It is imperative that the Council continues to explore all opportunities to make every pound count through the efficient delivery of services and commissioning practices.
In order to manage demand on the system the Council is looking to implement a strategy to shift the balance of support improve quality of life for its residents whilst reducing costs by shifting the balance of services from higher cost and lower quality of life
We will achieve this by;
Keeping Well/Healthy Independent Living
■ Encouraging people to live healthy lifestyles
Early Intervention and Prevention
■ Providing good quality information, advice and guidance
■ Using community/family/ neighbourhood solutions rather than formal care
■ Helping people to self-manage long term conditions
■ Focus on short term services that support recovery
■ Enabling people to regain lost skills and learn new skills
■ Maximising the use of aids, adaptations and technology first
■ Offering advice on income maximization
Independence at Home
■ Utilising aids, adaptations and technology to reduce the need for personal care
■ Reducing admissions to residential and nursing care
■ Expanding the use of Extra Care Housing / Housing with Care to give more control and choice in Sefton.
■ Timely reviews to ensure that people’s needs continue to be appropriately met
Long Term Residential and Nursing Care
■ The last resort when exhausted all other options
Cross Cutting Themes
■ Ensuring that adults at risk are protected from avoidable harm and people feel safe
■ Strength based / Asset based Practice
■ Technology/ Aids/ Adaptations First
■ Avoiding risk averse practices – particularly at point of hospital discharge
■ Commissioning for outcomes
■ Sufficient quantity of good quality care at a fair price that offers choice and control