Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the adult social care precept announced in the 2015 Spending Review, how much this was intended to raise; how many local authorities have used it; how much additional money has been raised; and whether alternatives to the precept were considered prior to its announcement.

The social care precept created in the 2015 Spending Review works by giving local authorities the flexibility to raise council tax in their area by up to 2 per cent above the existing threshold. If all local authorities used this to its maximum effect it could help raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20. In 2016-17 144 out 152 (95 per cent) of adult social care authorities took up the precept, raising £382m extra for social care this year. The precept was accompanied by the introduction of the 'improved Better Care Fund' grant for social care from 2017-18, worth £105million in that year and £1.5billion in 2019-20.

The Government announced on 15 December that, in recognition of the immediate challenges faced in the care market, Councils will be granted flexibility to raise the social care precept on council tax by up to 3 per cent next year and the year after, but by no more than 6 per cent over the three years. This could provide a further £208 million to spend on adult social care in 2017 to 2018 and £444 million in 2018 to 2019.