Sixteen English Councils Spend Over 80% of Core Funding on Social Care, Analysis Finds

Sixteen local councils in England spent more than 80% of their core funding on adult and children's social care last year, according to a Guardian analysis of government figures, underscoring the mounting financial strain on other local services.

Across all English councils responsible for social care, spending on the two services reached £42.8 billion in the 2025-26 financial year, equivalent to a record 71.9% of their combined core spending, the analysis found. Adult social care accounted for 44.5% of that spending, while children's services made up 27.4%.

The share of council budgets consumed by social care has climbed sharply over the past decade. In 2017-18, care costs represented 62.4% of councils' core spending, according to the figures cited in the analysis — a rise of roughly nine and a half percentage points over eight years.

The growing share devoted to statutory social care obligations leaves councils with proportionally less funding for services such as libraries, parks, road maintenance and other local amenities, which are not subject to the same statutory requirements.

The Guardian's analysis did not specify which sixteen councils exceeded the 80% threshold or detail the specific factors driving cost increases in individual local authorities, such as demographic pressures or wage costs within the care sector.