Dear Sir Ian,

I write concerning comments made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the morning of 7th March, during an interview on Good Morning Britain.

The Chancellor said: “By the way on social care, in my first autumn statement I put up the budget by nearly 40%, nearly £5 billion.”

I wish to raise concerns about the accuracy of this statement, which would appear to contradict already published statistics.

According to analysis by the Institute for Government, government spending on adult social care in 2021/22 was £23.1 billion, making the Chancellor’s £5 billion figure amount to just over 21%, not the 40% he suggests.

IfG data also shows that the additional funding does not come from government spending alone, rather a combination of levers including delays to charging reform and council tax increases.

Further, such increases fail to account for the levels of inflation we have seen since the Chancellor’s first Autumn statement.

I welcome your guidance on this matter, in particular what clarification you can provide on the veracity of the Chancellor’s claim and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Gwynne MP

 

Related links

Letter from Sir Robert Chote to Andrew Gwynne MP – social care funding