Free Online at www.coastalviewandmoornews.co.uk The Community Newspaper for the Towns and Villages of East Cleveland, Redcar & North York Moors, telling the real news and views of the people of our region
Issue 66 January - February 2016
Picture by: Marc Hodgson
Taking social care cash demand to Chancellor George Osborne By Sue Jeffrey - Leader of the Council
O
ur Council is currently trying to work out our budget for the coming year. The Labour Administration has made it absolutely clear that in line with our manifesto commitment we will be freezing Council Tax. However, for the first time the Chancellor has announced that Local Authorities are allowed to introduce a 2% adult social care precept. This would be ring-fenced to provide funding to pay for the increasing costs of providing adult social care. Costs are rising for two key reasons; to pay for the National Living Wage, which is required by law and because the number of older people in the Borough needing care is growing year-on-year. The idea of a precept is not new – every year you pay a precept to cover the cost of the police, fire services and, where they exist, parish and town councils. However it is new for government to ask you to separately pay some of the cost of a service provided by the Council. Councils of all political persuasions right across the country have been making a case to government to provide more cash to help fund the growing costs of adult social care and government have accepted that more is needed. But rather than find the money themselves they have said we must ask you to pay more.
The reality is that this funding is much needed. In Redcar & Cleveland 29,200 (22%) people are aged over 65, this is expected to increase to 36,900 by 2030. So providing support to older people so that they can live safe and dignified lives is going to cost the council more. As well as older people, Adult Social Care also supports adults with a disability, there are estimated to be almost 2,000 adults in the borough with a learning disability, 2,000 with a severe physical disability and 13,000 with a mental health problem. The adult social care precept would raise just over £1m and be ring-fenced to pay for these services only. It would help the Council invest in providing ongoing quality care. We have already changed the way our services are run to ensure we are providing good value for money and there is more on the way. For example we have plans to establish a Care Academy early in the New Year in partnership with Adult Education. The Academy will provide free basic training in care to those wanting to start a career in care and more advanced Dignity & Respect Training for current care workers. We are investing in raising the standards of care, and developing more extra care and supported living schemes as an alternative to residential care. However, we are also very aware of the devastating impact that many of our people are suffering through the demise of SSI, the job losses at Boulby and other closures. Additionally many get low wages or work uncertain and unreliable hours because of zero hours contracts. We do not think it is right for the Chancellor to ask people who are already on the brink to pay more to fund additional costs for services that are required by government. I am therefore, as Council Leader, writing to the government asking them to take account of our particular circumstances and provide a oneoff grant of just over £1m in lieu of the adult social care precept. If we receive this grant it would go entirely to adult social care. I will be asking the Leaders of all the political groups on the council to join with me and sign the letter. I don’t know what response we will get, but I do know that our older people deserve the best possible care, and that we will do everything we can to ensure that they get it both now and in the future. I’ll let you know what happens. Read more about social care issues on page 9
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Enjoying activities St Germain’s Grange, day centre in Marske