A National Care Service for England must “build on local democratic leadership”, the LGA has said.
LGA Chair Cllr Eamonn O’Brien also called for “sustained and predictable” funding for adult social care in response to the proposed service, which would start in the next Parliament and initially provide free personal care for people aged 65 and over.
Cllr O’Brien said: “The current system cannot carry on as it is, with councils under growing pressure to meet rising need with resources that have not kept pace. This is an opportunity not simply to fix a system under strain, but to build something better.
“A national care service should help make care fairer and more consistent across the country. But it must build on, rather than replace, local democratic leadership.
“Councils know their communities and bring together social care with housing, public health and the wider support that helps people stay well and independent. Getting reform right could improve not just social care, but the wider services and communities on which all of us depend.”
This will require “sustained and predictable funding”, he added, noting that between 2025/26 and 2028/29, councils face an additional £5.8 billion in adult social care cost pressures – equivalent to 20.9 per cent of councils’ net adult social care spending in 2025/26.