I am helping to lead a campaign calling on the Government to address the crisis in funding elderly care which threatens the council’s ability to fund key services.
The rising cost of providing care and support to a rapidly growing ageing population, combined with the growing cost of delivering other statutory responsibilities like social services and concessionary travel, will soak up almost all of council spending.
The figures, based on conservative estimates, show that unless the funding crisis is addressed, a £153 million funding shortfall will exist by 2017-18 between current estimates of the amount of money available to Cambridgeshire County Council to provide its full range of services and the predicted cost of maintaining them at the levels wanted. Core funding from Government has reduced from £140 million for 2010/11 to £107 million for 2012/13, with further reductions expected.
The analysis is part of a wider report by the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 373 councils in England and Wales. It warns that in order to manage a £16.5 billion shortfall that councils across the country may face by the end of the decade, funding for many service areas may have to reduce significantly.
Cambridgeshire County Council is joining forces with the LGA and calling on the Government to ensure local authorities are not placed in that position by providing adequate funding to support adult social care services and giving councils access to the resources needed to deliver the services expected of them by local residents.
The 28 per cent cut in the amount of money councils receive from central Government between 2010/11 and 2014/15 has contributed considerably to this situation. We’re calling on the Government to do more, otherwise all our residents will suffer as a consequence as we look at other council services in order to address the crisis in adult social care funding. We need an immediate injection of money into the adult care system to meet rising demand in the short term, alongside a major revision of the way it is paid for and delivered in future.
We’re looking at a potential gap of £2.9 million between the money available for providing adult social care services and the predicted cost of maintaining them in 2012/13 – and this will continue to widen as the years go on. We are working hard to deliver services that promote good health and positive wellbeing to help to reduce the increasing demand, whilst maintaining personal dignity and providing value for money for the county’s tax payers. But this will not be enough, the Government need to act now to address this situation for the benefit of all of our residents. Residents are also encouraged to join in the campaign, go to
Nick Clarke 