ARC England has responded to the publication of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Spring Survey 2025, which paints a stark picture of a social care system under mounting pressure and struggling to meet even its most fundamental statutory duties.
Samantha Leonard, ARC England Director, said:
“The ADASS Spring Survey offers a cold reminder that our adult social care system is not just stretched, it’s under severe and growing strain. When more than half of directors lack confidence in meeting their legal duties around safeguarding and mental health assessments, it signals a deep and systemic risk to the safety, dignity and rights of the people with learning disabilities and autistic people who rely on care and support every day.”
These funding challenges are increasingly driving up both the level and complexity of need. The survey shows that 60% of councils have reported an increase in referrals related to rough sleeping, while 73% have seen an increase in mental ill health referrals.
The ADASS survey authors say, “This rise in acute, often avoidable, need is placing further unsustainable pressure on already overburdened systems. Social care is increasingly being left to pick up the pieces where wider systems of prevention and support have failed.”
The report also reveals that 54% of directors have only partial or no confidence in meeting their statutory responsibilities for safeguarding adults, and 65% say the same for Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) services.
The survey states, “Safeguarding and AMHP duties are not optional extras they are core to protecting people’s rights, freedoms and lives. That such duties are at risk tells us all we need to know about the fragility of the system.”
AMHPs are responsible for assessing whether people should be detained under the Mental Health Act, a critical role in upholding individual rights and ensuring proper care. Safeguarding Social Workers investigate and intervene in situations where adults, especially those unable to protect themselves, face the risk of serious harm. That these legally mandated services are in jeopardy should raise red flags at every level of Government.
ARC England echoes the concerns voiced by Kathryn Marsden OBE, Chief Executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), who said this ongoing crisis “undermines outcomes for people who draw on care and support but also the Government’s own ambitions for both social care and the NHS.”
“We know prevention works. It keeps people well, independent and connected to their communities. It is more cost-effective and delivers better lives not just better services. But local authorities cannot deliver long-term improvements when they are forced to make short-term decisions just to stay afloat. Only 16% of councils report having a systematic plan for co-production in place. Without genuine collaboration with people who draw on care and support, we risk designing services around systems, not lives.”
ARC England supports SCIE’s call for urgent action to prioritise preventative care and rebalance the system. Innovative projects funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Accelerating Reform Fund show that sector led transformation is already happening but this needs proper investment and a focus on learning diabilities and autism services.
Sam Leonard says, “The evidence is there, the solutions are there and the sector stands ready to act. What’s missing is the sustained commitment and investment from Government to unlock prevention at scale.”
“We urge the Government to act now before more people fall through the cracks, and before statutory services become completely overwhelmed.”