An extra £20 million will be invested in social services in Wales every year in recognition of the sector’s national strategic importance, Minister Rebecca Evans has confirmed.
The funding, which has been made available as a result of consequential funding from the UK Government’s March budget, will help ensure the system is sustainable for the future and responds to the pressures facing local government.
The recurrent funding will be invested in three priority areas:
- £9 million will increase funding already made available to manage workforce costs, and promote the stability of the social care market
- £8 million will support work to prevent children from entering care and improve outcomes for those leaving care
- £3 million will be provided to local authorities to support respite for carers given the critical role they play
Prevention is at the heart of the allocation, with the investment designed to pay dividends in the long term.
The extra funding confirmed today means a total of £55 million of additional funding will be invested in social care in 2017-18.
Minister for Social Services and Public Health, Rebecca Evans, said: “The Welsh Government has long recognised social services as a sector of national strategic importance, which is why we continue to invest heavily in this area. I am pleased today to confirm an extra £20 million each year will be invested in social services, as a result of the consequential funding we received following March’s budget.
“Our focus is on prevention – the funding will have a significant positive impact on people’s lives, while at the same time reducing costs for local government in the longer term.
“The investment will improve outcomes for the most vulnerable people in society. It will be used to improve the sustainability of the social care market, reduce the numbers of children going into care, and improve support for carers.”