Responding to news stories about funding for adult social care following Prime Minister’s Questions, Cllr Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council and Vice Chair of Core Cities UK said:

“The growing crisis in Adult Social Care requires immediate and decisive action. This crisis is felt most in the places with the highest levels of need and the lowest levels of ability to raise resources locally to pay for it - in short, urban areas like the Core Cities.

“Three recent funds aiming to bridge the gap have been allocated according to three different sets of rules:

“The Improved Better Care Fund takes into account local ability to raise resources, the Adult Social Care Grant does not take this into account and we are unaware of the criteria used to allocate the Transition Fund, which none of the Core Cities received. This is not a transparent process and funds have ended up going to affluent rather that more deprived places, creating further strain on the system. Public funds should be allocated according to the levels of need they are designed to address, and a local area’s ability to raise resources to support them. This should be based on evidence and on nationally set criteria, not bilateral discussions which only serve to raise further doubts about the fairness of our system.

“Core Cities UK has made detailed proposals – which I set out before the Select Committee for the Local Government Finance Bill last week – on how we can create a workable and transparent solution.

“This should start by combining existing funds into a single pot and allocating them on the basis of local need and resource raising ability. To do otherwise lets down the people our system is most meant to support and stores up costs for the future.”