Last week I wrote to the chancellor of the exchequer and the shadow Secretary of State regarding the impact of NI increases on Wokingham Borough Council and Adult Social Care in the constituency as a whole. The letter to the Shadow Secretary of state was as follows:
I write to you regarding the Government’s increase in employers’ National Insurance.
For Wokingham Borough the combination of the National Insurance rise with the increase in National Living Wage is projected to increase pressure to the Council’s budgets by £3.5 million.
We are particularly affected by these changes, more so than other Councils.
With an ageing population, the cost of adult social care has increased significantly as a proportion of the Council’s budget.
Under the previous Government, additional funding of £1.6 million was provided to meet the rising demand for statutory services including adult social care, on top of another grant increase. By contrast, Council officers have said that the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 will reduce the Council’s grant funding by £1 million.
More than any other unitary authority, almost all the Council’s funding comes from local taxpayers rather than Government grants. We are dependent on increasing Council Tax to properly fund adult social care services. Nevertheless, the cap on Council Tax increases means this can only be raised so far.
So, it is not an option to place the additional high burden of taxation on residents, nor do local people want to see other essential services being cut.
However, these changes will result in our Council having to cut funding for adult social care, at a time when it is essential such services are properly funded. Without the proper improvements to adult social care, more pressure will be placed on the NHS.
These changes put local authorities in an impossible position and will result significant damage to adult social care services across the country, where councils have no other means to cover the increased costs, including in Wokingham Borough.
I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer urging her to listen to councils who are calling on her to think again. I would be grateful if you could use your position shadowing the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to make our case to the Government.
