Better Care Fund Policy

Better Care Fund Policy funds integrated health and social care services, particularly hospital discharge and preventative community care, through pooled budgets between NHS and local authorities. Led by DLUHC and DHSC, the policy is undergoing structural reform for 2026–27 to better support prevention and align funding across multiple government departments. Current concerns focus on funding misalignment, Integrated Care Systems capacity, and unpaid carer support.

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Family: Scrutiny and evidence

2025

8 events

2 Dec 2025 | Committee report linked

Six months on from our Adult Social Care: The Cost of Inaction report, we are frustrated the Government is yet to review the structure and level of NHS investment in the Better Care Fund (BCF). Whilst we welcome a commitment to reform the BCF in the coming 2026–27 financial year, we believe this must become a priority if the Government is to ensure it is fully capable of meeting its renewed focus on prevention and provision in the community. This should also address the misalignment of fundin...

Six months on from our Adult Social Care: The Cost of Inaction report, we are frustrated the Government is yet to review the structure and level of NHS investment in the Better Care Fund (BCF). Whilst we welcome a commitment …

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5 May 2025 | Committee report linked

We recommend that the Casey Commission includes a specific workstream dedicated to reducing the pressures on carers, especially young carers. This workstream should consider how to support unpaid carers better, to ensure they get the respite they need and to look after their own health and wellbeing. It should also consider how businesses could be better incentivised to employ and support unpaid carers. (Recommendation, Paragraph 48) Costs to the care system

We recommend that the Casey Commission includes a specific workstream dedicated to reducing the pressures on carers, especially young carers. This workstream should consider how to support unpaid carers better, to ensure they get the respite they need and to …

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5 May 2025 | Committee report linked

The current state of the adult social care system is undermining the relationship building that is fundamental to the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). Too much relies on local leadership, where often it feels that progress is made despite funding mechanisms rather than because of them. By maintaining a system which fosters disputes about money, the ability of ICSs to make the difference they were set up to make will be limited at best, and impossible at worst. (Conclusion, Parag...

The current state of the adult social care system is undermining the relationship building that is fundamental to the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). Too much relies on local leadership, where often it feels that progress is made despite …

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5 May 2025 | Committee report linked

We welcome the new objectives for the Better Care Fund to support preventative services, rather than simply focusing on solving challenges with hospital discharge. (Conclusion, Paragraph 111)

We welcome the new objectives for the Better Care Fund to support preventative services, rather than simply focusing on solving challenges with hospital discharge. (Conclusion, Paragraph 111) Type: conclusion | Number: 21 | Response status: accepted Government response: We agree …

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5 May 2025 | Committee report linked

We recommend that the Government and the NHS review the structure and level of NHS investment in the Better Care Fund to ensure it is fully capable of meeting its renewed focused on upstream and preventative work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 112) 56

We recommend that the Government and the NHS review the structure and level of NHS investment in the Better Care Fund to ensure it is fully capable of meeting its renewed focused on upstream and preventative work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 112) …

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29 Jan 2025 | Committee report linked

NHSE’s long-held ambition to move more care from hospitals to the community has stalled. There would have been more investment and progress in mental health and community services, particularly GP surgeries and dental services, in 2023–24 had NHSE not redirected funding to prop up the day-to-day spending of local NHS systems. Despite carrying out 15% more elective activity compared to before the pandemic, the NHS is less productive overall once the activities of mental health trusts, communit...

NHSE’s long-held ambition to move more care from hospitals to the community has stalled. There would have been more investment and progress in mental health and community services, particularly GP surgeries and dental services, in 2023–24 had NHSE not redirected …

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29 Jan 2025 | Committee report linked

Local areas would value more flexibility about where they can direct their resources to achieve greatest impact, including how they fund measures to prevent ill health. ICBs were supposed to have greater autonomy in determining how to allocate resources locally compared to their predecessor bodies, including freedom to shape future local health services. However, there is widespread agreement that NHSE’s approach to planning and governance, in particular the all-encompassing nature of its top...

Local areas would value more flexibility about where they can direct their resources to achieve greatest impact, including how they fund measures to prevent ill health. ICBs were supposed to have greater autonomy in determining how to allocate resources locally …

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29 Jan 2025 | Committee report linked

Despite carrying out 15% more elective activity than before the pandemic, the NHS is less productive overall once the activities of mental health trusts, community trusts and GPs are considered.42 NHSE told us that, while government has had a long-term aim to shift more care and services into local communities, funding increases for these services had often been slow.43 However, it highlighted how recent capacity investments had been in community services rather than hospitals, for example in...

Despite carrying out 15% more elective activity than before the pandemic, the NHS is less productive overall once the activities of mental health trusts, community trusts and GPs are considered.42 NHSE told us that, while government has had a long-term …

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2024

3 events

20 Mar 2024 | Committee report linked

We remain unconvinced as to whether the Department knows if it is achieving value for money from the additional funding going to adult social care. Recent funding for adult social care includes short-term, top-up pots of money in response to crises. In response to emerging pressures in 2022, government awarded £1.6 billion to help speed up hospital discharge through the Better Care Fund and £1.1 billion new grant funding to local authorities through the Market Sustainability and Improvement F...

We remain unconvinced as to whether the Department knows if it is achieving value for money from the additional funding going to adult social care. Recent funding for adult social care includes short-term, top-up pots of money in response to …

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20 Mar 2024 | Committee report linked

In recent years, there have been multiple short-term, top-up funding announcements for adult social care in response to crises. In response to emerging pressures in 2022, in the November 2022 Autumn Statement government announced funding of up to £7.5 billion over two years (up to £2.8 billion in 2023–24 and up to £4.7 billion in 2024–25) to help stabilise the care sector. This included £2.7 billion of new grant funding: £1.6 billion through the existing Better Care Fund to support hospital d...

In recent years, there have been multiple short-term, top-up funding announcements for adult social care in response to crises. In response to emerging pressures in 2022, in the November 2022 Autumn Statement government announced funding of up to £7.5 billion …

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19 Jan 2024 | Committee report linked

Integrated Care Systems aim to enable a stronger focus on prevention, and on the specific approaches needed in different communities to help ensure that they are “healthy places”. But this is a long-term agenda. The mixed longer-term outcomes of initiatives such as Healthy New Towns demonstrate that building communities that protect good health is not something that can be accomplished through isolated programmes over a few years. The immediate pressures on health services are numerous and co...

Integrated Care Systems aim to enable a stronger focus on prevention, and on the specific approaches needed in different communities to help ensure that they are “healthy places”. But this is a long-term agenda. The mixed longer-term outcomes of initiatives …

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2023

5 events

30 Mar 2023 | Committee report linked

We welcome the clear references to local priorities within NHS England guidance for ICSs and DHSC’s proposed shared outcomes framework. We hope that, in the years to come, this focus on local priorities will be maintained. However, we share the NAO’s concern about the tension between local needs-based strategies and a national standardised service. Experience shows that locally determined priorities may become the poorer relation to priorities driven nationally.

We welcome the clear references to local priorities within NHS England guidance for ICSs and DHSC’s proposed shared outcomes framework. We hope that, in the years to come, this focus on local priorities will be maintained. However, we share the …

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30 Mar 2023 | Committee report linked

We welcome the Minister’s comments about giving ICSs information about the funding that will be available to them further in advance. DHSC must set out how it intends to do this, and any decision to give that information must be made in plenty of time to support ICS preparations for winter 2023/24.

We welcome the Minister’s comments about giving ICSs information about the funding that will be available to them further in advance. DHSC must set out how it intends to do this, and any decision to give that information must be …

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30 Mar 2023 | Committee report linked

DHSC should therefore review the funding and commissioning arrangements for Healthwatch, with a view to ensuring they are fit for purpose within the context of new ICSs, and support Healthwatch to have a clear voice. The outcome of this review should be reported to the House.

DHSC should therefore review the funding and commissioning arrangements for Healthwatch, with a view to ensuring they are fit for purpose within the context of new ICSs, and support Healthwatch to have a clear voice. The outcome of this review …

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8 Feb 2023 | Committee report Context · primary home: NHS policy linked

There is a well-established interdependency between health and local government, with local authorities responsible for managing local social care markets. The stability and resilience of social services have a direct impact on the NHS. High-quality social care, if available, can keep people independent, healthy, and out of hospital.31 Despite the aspiration for ICSs to better integrate health and care, we are concerned the underlying reforms do not address long-standing differences between t...

There is a well-established interdependency between health and local government, with local authorities responsible for managing local social care markets. The stability and resilience of social services have a direct impact on the NHS. High-quality social care, if available, can …

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8 Feb 2023 | Committee report linked

We asked the Department what the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund would achieve. It informed us this funding would be used primarily for measures to support discharge from hospitals into social care, with an expectation that much would be focussed on the domiciliary care workforce.73 The Department also noted this funding would be used differently in different places, and that it was for local authority and NHS partners within ICSs to decide, through place-based decision-making, ...

We asked the Department what the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund would achieve. It informed us this funding would be used primarily for measures to support discharge from hospitals into social care, with an expectation that much would …

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2022

4 events

4 Aug 2022 | Committee report linked

We recognise that it is not always easy to engage with people who do not identify as “carers”, but more must be done to ensure that carers receive the support to which they are entitled, and that the support they receive is useful to them. All carers are legally entitled to a carers assessment, but under the current arrangements it seems that only 1 in 4 has received one. This is not acceptable. The Government should carry out a review of carers assessments, including of the terminology, co-p...

We recognise that it is not always easy to engage with people who do not identify as “carers”, but more must be done to ensure that carers receive the support to which they are entitled, and that the support they …

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4 Aug 2022 | Committee report linked

We welcome the Joining up Care for People, Places and Populations White Paper and commend the Government for making the integration of health and social care a policy priority. We particularly welcome the Government’s ambitions around shared outcomes, workforce integration, and ensuring every citizen has a shared care record by 2024. However, we are concerned that inconsistent geographical boundaries could result in gaps which could also hinder the successful pooling of budgets. In Spring 202...

We welcome the Joining up Care for People, Places and Populations White Paper and commend the Government for making the integration of health and social care a policy priority. We particularly welcome the Government’s ambitions around shared outcomes, workforce integration, …

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4 Aug 2022 | Committee report linked

Integration strategies should seek to integrate not just health and care but health, care and housing. Ensuring there is holistic care that fits around a person’s needs includes preventing care needs from arising by having suitable housing, enabling people to live independently in their own homes, and ensuring that people receive the right care and support in the right setting, recognising that most people who receive care do so in their own home. Getting housing arrangements right for people...

Integration strategies should seek to integrate not just health and care but health, care and housing. Ensuring there is holistic care that fits around a person’s needs includes preventing care needs from arising by having suitable housing, enabling people to …

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6 Jan 2022 | Committee report linked

We have heard much about how a robust social care system that can support hospital discharges and free up capacity is essential to clear the backlog. We welcome the inclusion of the social care workforce in the refreshed Framework 15. Social care, however, did not receive an adequate settlement in the spending review, with the £5.4 billion over three years falling well short of the £7 billion annual increase we have previously recommended. Even after the spending review period, there 38 Clear...

We have heard much about how a robust social care system that can support hospital discharges and free up capacity is essential to clear the backlog. We welcome the inclusion of the social care workforce in the refreshed Framework 15. …

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2021

2 events

13 Jul 2021 | Committee report linked

We recommend that the Department of Health & Social Care provides us with a complete assessment of the cost of providing community support for all autistic people and people with learning disabilities currently in inpatient units. Alongside this, an assessment should also be made of the cost of providing community support for all autistic people and people with learning disabilities funded by both the NHS and local authorities. Once the costs of moving care and support to the community for th...

We recommend that the Department of Health & Social Care provides us with a complete assessment of the cost of providing community support for all autistic people and people with learning disabilities currently in inpatient units. Alongside this, an assessment …

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14 May 2021 | Committee report linked

We support the proposals in the White Paper that will be included in the new Bill and welcome the direction of travel in the Government’s reform of health and social care. Provided that proper accountability mechanisms are put in place, particularly relating to the safety and quality of care, we believe that creation of Integrated Care Systems throughout England has the potential to improve the delivery of care services for patients. However, there are areas in the White Paper that require fu...

We support the proposals in the White Paper that will be included in the new Bill and welcome the direction of travel in the Government’s reform of health and social care. Provided that proper accountability mechanisms are put in place, …

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