The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said that it is unconvinced the Better Care Fund (BCF) can reduce emergency admissions and deliver the £532 million of savings in 2015/16 the fund seeks to achieve.
It also raised concerns that this new focus of the £5.3 billion government initiative will “significantly increase pressure in adult social care services”.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said that it is unconvinced the Better Care Fund (BCF) can reduce emergency admissions and deliver the £532 million of savings in 2015/16 the fund seeks to achieve.
It also raised concerns that this new focus of the £5.3 billion government initiative will “significantly increase pressure in adult social care services”.
Publishing Planning for the Better Care Fund, the cross-party panel of MPs recommended that the government departments involved in the BCF publish an annual scorecard to demonstrate the extent to which the BCF is supporting integration, maintaining adult social care, reducing emergency admissions and saving money.
The report follows a PAC inquiry into planning for the BCF, which has concluded that initial planning was "deeply flawed". It added that changes to the rules mid-planning phase and subsequent re-submission of local area plans "eroded goodwill and put delivery of the fund’s objectives at risk".
The committee also concluded that the "confused" accountability at national and local levels has hindered the development of the BCF. And it said it is still not clear how all local authorities will protect adult social care services to the extent intended.
