Social care burden ‘is falling on councils’

THE PRIME Minister has been accused of not having an “oven-ready” plan for dealing with adult social care, with the burden placed on local taxpayers instead.

In the run up to this year’s council tax setting meeting on February 27, the ruling Labour group in Hull said Boris Johnson was “forcing” councils to add another two per cent to bills or “fail to provide for the most vulnerable in our communities.”

A rise of 3.99 per cent is proposed – including the two per cent for adult social care.

It will mean householders in Band A properties having to find another £36 towards a bill of £950 in 2020/21, if approved.

In a group budget statement Coun Phil Webster said: “Although the Government has given Hull Council an extra one-off sum of £7m for next year this isn’t the plan or resolution to this issue that we were promised.”

Another pressure on the budget is children’s services, which have also seen a spike in demand, requiring an extra £3m this year and £3m next year. Last year the department was rated “inadequate” overall by Ofsted.

The number of children in care has risen from 796 in March 2019 to 848 in January.

Last year the council put extra money into creating three more residential facilities in Hull for children, including two small homes, and this year’s budget commits another £1.2m to “allow significant transformation of service delivery”.

The Government is seeking to build a cross-party consensus on adult social care.

The Department of Health and Social Care said £1.5bn of new funding had been made awarded to councils to help meet rising demand, fund more care home places and social workers and protect the most vulnerable in society.

A spokesperson said: “We are determined to find a long-term solution so that every person is treated with dignity and offered the security they deserve.”