Adult social care precept

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024/25 allows local authorities with adult social care responsibilities to raise Council Tax above the referendum limit via an increase in the adult social care precept. The income generated by this is ringfenced specifically for adult social care.

For 2024/25, government has allowed an increase to a maximum of 2%, which is assumed by government in their assessment of the overall increase in councils’ Core Spending Power.

Improved Better Care Fund Grant

The Improved Better Care Fund (BCF) grant is distributed to authorities with social care responsibilities based on a formula that considers local need and Council Tax raising ability.

Funding for authorities with adult social care responsibilities includes Improved Better Care Fund grant. The Better Care Fund was introduced in 2015, and in 2017 the level of funding was increased through both an original and supplementary Improved Better Care Fund grant allocations.

The government requires both grants to be pooled in the Better Care Fund, together with related funding that is provided through the NHS, within its existing Section 75 framework agreement. This means that decisions on how the money is spent are made jointly with the Devon NHS Integrated Care Board.

The government has stated the funding is for the benefit of social care overall but can be used in full to meet adult social care needs and can also be used to reduce pressures on the NHS (including supporting more people to be discharged from hospital when they are ready) and ensuring that the local social care provider market is supported.

For 2024/25 the government has announced that both elements of the grant will continue and the allocations received by the authority are summarised in the following table.

	21/22	22/23	23/24	24/25
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Original improved BCF	19.7	19.7	19.7	19.7
Supplementary improved BCF	8.6	9.5	9.5	9.5
Total	28.3	29.2	29.2	29.2

No announcement has yet been made on the level of grant the authority can expect beyond 2024/25. The Medium Term Financial Plan assumes the grants continue at £29.2 million per year, but this is far from certain.