Councils will be offered £2bn to help fight off a crisis in the UK’s social care provision
Local authorities will be offered up to £2bn over the next three years to help meet the cost of social care.
The funding was announced by chancellor Philip Hammond earlier today with £1bn of cash set to arrive in 2017-18.
Local Government Association chairman Lord Porter welcomed the announcement, saying the funding represented “a significant step towards protecting the services caring for the most vulnerable in our communities over the next few years”.
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In addition, Hammond said the Treasury will launch a consultation on plans to help fund social care later this year.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron had planned to install a cap on the cost of long-term care from April 2016, limiting total bills to £72,000.
However the plan, which had been a manifesto commitment during the general election, was dropped in July 2015 with ministers promising to review the implementation in 2020.
A revival of the cap has been reported as one plan under consideration by the Treasury, with alternatives including allowing the elderly to withdraw money from pensions for long term care and tax free Isa-style schemes focused on later life needs.