Millions are owed to Cambridgeshire County Council in adult social care debt, including £13million owed by the NHS.

The county council has a statutory duty to provide social care to people in the area who require it.

Many people who receive care and support either at home or in the community have to pay some or all of their care costs, as social care, unlike NHS services, is not free at the point of use.

A report published by the county council said overdue adult social care debt has been increasing steadily over the last three years.

It said in the last year overdue client debt had increased by 16 per cent from £16.6million at the end of March 2023 to £19.3million at the end of March 2024.

It is not just individuals who owe the county council money for social care, but the NHS also has outstanding debt with the authority.

Over the last year the NHS overdue debt relating to adult social care increased from £1.4million at the end of March 2023, to £13million at the end of March 2024.

At a meeting of the county council’s adults and health committee on June 27, Councillor Chris Boden said he was “shocked” at the increase in the NHS overdue debt.

He said it concerned him the amount the debt had increased in just one year.

Cllr Boden said: “Is not acceptable for cash flow to be affected in this way between organisations which are meant to be partners.

“We have got to do better than this in terms of working with partners to ensure the correct flow of money as appropriate.

“Clearly that is not happening, I’m not sure how we achieve this, I would have hoped that goodwill between partners should solve this problem, if goodwill is not solving it I’m not sure where we go from there, but it is a highly unsatisfactory position to be in.”

Officers said they were in discussions with the Integrated Care Board about getting the overdue debt paid, and said an agreement had been reached for one issue, but said another area was still under discussion.

Councillor Susan van de Ven said the information in the report about overdue debt from individual people in the county “reflects the very terrible condition of life” she said many people were facing.

Officers acknowledged that there were a number of reasons behind why individuals had overdue debt for social care.

They explained that there are processes in place to try and help those who are struggling to pay the care costs.

The report also stated that £792,000 of social care debt had been written off in the last financial year.

Councillor Richard Howitt said he recognised the county council also needed to do better when dealing with unpaid care fees for someone who has died.

He said the authority had recently received an Ombudsman report which found against the county council on how it handled a situation chasing the debt of a deceased person.

Cllr Howitt said it was important the county council considered how it spoke to the family members of someone who has died.

Officers confirmed this was an area the authority was working on.