BARNSLEY residents spent more than £15m of their own money to care for their friends and relatives last year, new figures have revealed.
NHS Digital figures show people in Barnsley paid £15.8m for adult social care services in 2022/23 - up from £15m the year before.
This includes paying for care services at home and in care homes.
In total, Barnsley Council spent £93.9m providing services last year.
It can offset the amount it spends on providing care through various income and funding streams, such as investment from the NHS and contributions from patients.
Last year, the council received £29.7m.
It means the council’s net spend on providing adult social care sat at £64.3m - up from £63.3m in 2021/22.
The Local Government Association wrote to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, urging him to provide further funding for councils to deliver adult social care services.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing ward, said: “Councils have increased their spending on adult social care, but evidence shows that there is still an unacceptable amount of unmet and under-met need.
“Councils are facing increased demand for services and unprecedented inflationary and pay pressures, and urgent action must be taken to address these issues.”
Further NHS Digital figures show 0.8 per cent of people were extremely or very dissatisfied with the level of care they received last year in Barnsley - one of the highest proportions in the country.
Meanwhile, 74.5 per cent were extremely or very satisfied with their care.
Natasha Curry, deputy director of policy at the Nuffield Trust, said: “Means testing thresholds haven’t changed since 2010, so fewer people qualify for public funding, and those who pay for their own care are finding it to be more expensive due to inflation.
“Many self-funders are forced to make the difficult decision to reduce the care visits and packages that they access because costs are too high.”
Jeremy Hunt announced a further £4.7bn in funding for adult social care up to 2024/25 in last year’s autumn budget - in a bid to ensure that local councils are able to meet people’s needs.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The government has made available up to £8.1bn over this year and next to strengthen adult social care provision.
“This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care.
“The new funding represents a more than real terms increase and data published last week showed that spending on adult social care has increased in real terms for eight consecutive years.”
