Key announcements for adults and children’s social care in Spending Review

Rachel Reeves delivered the Treasury’s Spending Review on Wednesday, announcing a number of significant funding changes for services for children and adults.

The Chancellor reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to earlier intervention, announcing £555 million in transformation funding.

“On children’s social care, to break the dangerous cycle of late intervention and low-quality care, I am providing £555 million of transformation funding over the spending review period, so that children do not needlessly go into care when they could stay at home, and so that, where state intervention is necessary, there is better care, and there are better outcomes,” Reeves said.

The Treasury added that £555 million from the Transformation Fund over the Spending Review period would also be used to ‘fix’ the broken care market, alongside £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s homes and foster care placements.

Responding to the announcements, Rachael Wardell, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), said the extra funding was welcome, but warned of a ‘growing crisis’ in for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

“It is good to see the Government commit more than a billion pounds over the next three years to support the continued transformation of children’s social care and investment in improving and developing placements for children in care. The commitment to continued investment in family hubs is similarly welcome along with the real terms uplift in funding for schools.

“The growing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) needs to be urgently addressed and we look forward to seeing the detail of reforms here in a White Paper this autumn and what will be in the Child Poverty Strategy.

“Too many children and young people are being left without the support they need to thrive, with long waits and under-resourced services leaving families struggling.”

Meanwhile, for adult social care, the Chancellor announced an additional £4 billion in funding by 2028–29, relative to 2025–26 delivered through a mix of core local authority grants and the Better Care Fund.

Reeves also outlined record NHS investment, as well as a landmark £39 billion commitment to social housing.

Many across the adult social care sector welcomed the funding, but warned that it only addressed issues in the short-term while full-scale social care reform was needed to tackle longstanding issues like workforce strategy.

Jess McGregor, President of the body representing directors of adult social services ADASS said the investment would ease pressure on the NHS.

“We know that investment in social care is critical to supporting more people to live independently at home or in their community for longer and reducing pressure on the NHS.

“While this funding will help local councils continue to provide care and support to people in the short-term, it doesn’t solve longstanding issues such as access to care, workforce challenges and support for carers. We need to press ahead with the Casey Commission to find solutions which can bring sustainable reforms for the long term and build a care system that is there for everyone, when we need it.”

Similarly, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) said the Review was “a step in the right direction—but far from the bold, coordinated investment needed for effective reform.”

Kathryn Smith OBE, Chief Executive at SCIE said: “Social care is not a standalone service and it does not operate in a silo. It interfaces with housing, healthcare, and mental health support. The care system can play a role in alleviating pressures across other public services, but without stable funding and investment, it could also compound them.  In other words, the Government’s vision for the country depends on an appropriately resourced social care sector.”