NHS and council officials say they have 'reset' their relationship – following disputes over who should fund millions of pounds of care.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council saw £2.25 million of cost pressures last year due to the NHS cutting continuing healthcare (CHC) packages for people with chronic conditions, a figure that is expected to rise to £3.2 million in 2026/27.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) says the affected individuals' needs fall within social care, rather than healthcare, meaning they are not eligible for NHS funding.

But this has meant increased costs for both the city council and potentially the people themselves if they are self-funders.

According to a council report, Stoke-on-Trent now has 'significantly lower' CHC funding rates compared to the national average, with the ICB ranked 40th out of 42 for overall CHC provision.

But members of the city council's adult social care scrutiny committee were told that the authority and ICB are now looking to work collaboratively to ensure vulnerable people's needs are met.

This has included the development of a joint funding protocol, which will see costs shared in borderline cases.

Committee members raised concerns over NHS costs being 'shunted' onto the council and Stoke-on-Trent taxpayers.

Nichola Thompson, corporate director for adult social care and all age commissioning, told the committee that instead of 'playing ping pong' over funding, the council and ICB are looking to work together.

She said: "We've got the evidence to show that we're getting some pressures, but what we're trying to do is reset the relationship. We're trying to do things differently.

"We've now got a joint funding protocol where we share costs 50:50, which is really working. We're providing a lot of training and support to our staff to make sure they are confident in challenging some decisions, but also making sure that when they're doing a checklist that it's high quality and representative of a person's needs.

"What we're trying to do is reframe that relationship. It's about how we start to do things differently."

Claire Skidmore, deputy chief executive and chief financial officer at the ICB, welcomed the new approach. She said: "I'm really heartened when I read this report. What you describe in terms of that collaboration is exactly what we need to do. We can't do this in isolation from each other."

Ms Thompson said that the issues with CHC seen in Stoke-on-Trent are now common across the country, as both ICBs and local authorities contend with strained budgets.

Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance, believes the national government needs to find a solution.

She said: "Hopefully there will be a national answer to these issues, and certainly the new prime minister has made it a priority. While we have this division between social care and health care we're never going to get there.

"I appreciate how difficult this is for the ICB, but the impact on us last year was really significant, and we expect it to be this year as well."

Committee members asked for an update on the collaborative working at a future meeting.