Closer working arrangements between councils and the health service will be vital in meeting London’s health and social care needs, London Councils has warned today.

The warning comes following the publication of research by LG Futures into social care costs in London which reveals that in 2008/9 London’s local authorities spent £2.3 billion providing care services.

But because of a predicted rise in client numbers, the characteristics of London’s population and the high costs of delivering services in the capital, this expenditure is predicted to rise by as much as 20 per cent – or £460 million – by 2016/17.

London spends 46 per cent per head more than the national average on caring for older people and a higher proportion of London’s older people require care than the national average. This is explained by a different population profile - as in London:  

• Of those over 65, a higher proportion are over 90 than elsewhere;
• More older people live on their own than in other parts of the country;
• Fewer people own their own homes.