Adult social care precept

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 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 2025/26, the Council Tax attributable to Devon County Council includes the precept to fund adult social care.

Improved Better Care Fund Grant

The new 2025/26 Local Authority Better Care 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 the Local Authority Better Care grant.

This grant has been created following the consolidation of the two previously existing grants known as the improved Better Care Fund (BCF) and the Discharge Fund.

The government requires this grant to be pooled in the BCF (established in 2015), together with related funding that is provided through the NHS, within its existing Section 75 framework agreement under the NHS Act 2006. This means that decisions on how the money is spent are made jointly with the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board but must be spent in accordance with the national conditions set out in the BCF policy framework.

These funds are aimed at supporting the BCF’s overarching goals of shifting from sickness to prevention and from hospital to home, reducing delayed hospital discharges and ensuring more integrated and person-centred care.

Grant	22/23	23/24	24/25	25/26
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Improved BCF Grant	29.1	29.1	29.1	0
Additional Discharge Grant	3.0	4.1	6.8	0
Local Authority Better Care Grant				35.9
Total	32.1	33.2	35.9	35.9