Coventry council spends more than £100 million on adult social care

EMBARGOED TO 0001 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3 File photo dated 7/10/2013 of the hands of an elderly woman at home, as a significant proportion of elderly people plan to cut back on the amount of money they spend on care amid the cost-of-living crisis, a new poll suggests.

Coventry council spent more than £100 million on providing adult social care last year as spending on services across England reached a record high, new figures show.

In his autumn statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a further £4.7 billion for adult social care up to 2024-25, aimed at aiding hospital discharge rates and freeing up beds, and providing local authorities with more money for services.

But health think tank Nuffield Trust said budgets are being stretched due to inflationary pressures, and the system needs long-term funding to address severe workforce and capacity shortages.

NHS Digital figures show total expenditure on adult social care in Coventry was £142.3 million in the year to March.

Of this, £39.3 million was spent on council-run services, £99.2 million on external businesses offering adult social care, and a further £3.9 million on grants to local charities to provide support.

The majority of the funding (83%) went towards providing long-term care.

Coventry council can offset the amount it spends on providing care through various income and funding streams, such as investment from the NHS and joint arrangements with patients.

Last year, it received £32.3 million, meaning its gross spending on providing adult social care sat at £108.8 million – up from £106.1 million in 2020-21.

Gross expenditure is used by the NHS to monitor how much adult social care costs local authorities each year.

This includes patients paying for services themselves – which amounted to £15.2 million in Coventry in 2021-22.