Need to look at funding of care

With the council looking to save £6million pounds there have been numerous very noisy people calling for the university and students to pay their way, despite the £300million annually they inject into the local economy. Mary Hayward is insulted by myself pointing out that it is disingenuous for these people and organisations to do this while £90million of council tax is used to fund the healthcare of the elderly – £40million above the national average. It is good of her to point out how many of the services now being cut due to the financial burden placed on the council by the elderly are now being supported by the elderly are doing their bit to prop up the problem they have caused. I am sure the 300+ council workers that are being fired due to cost cutting will find that heartwarming. The reality though is that this issue will not go away and even now, next year’s elderly burden is potentially £93million. I cannot stress how critical it is that we change the way adult social services are funded and that they should be funded from central government money, and delivered by the local authority (not the NHS as I previously have stated). Our county is crumbling. Roads are crumbling. Pavements are unmaintained. Youth services are being cut or even nonexistent. Libraries dying because, let’s be honest, volunteer run libraries do eventually collapse as has been shown time and again. Business rates are squeezing independent businesses until they pack up and leave. Councils around the country are being financially decimated due to elderly health care costs and the funding of this needs fixing really fast. Blaming students or even cyclists for the council’s financial woes was what started this series of letters. Looking at the accounts of the council, it is very clear where the problem lies – 53.5p in every £1 of your council tax goes on the care of the elderly and this cost is growing yearly. This really cannot go on. Adam Reynolds Bath resident Cycle Bath chair