Plymouth lends support to 'Show us you care' campaign
Plymouth City Council has joined the national campaign demanding urgent action from the government over the funding crisis facing adult social care.
The Local Government Association has launched the 'Show us you care' campaign, drawing together councils from across the country to call for action with a united voice.
Plymouth is facing huge pressures on its adult social care budget and it is not alone, this is a national crisis. An ageing population and the 28 per cent reduction in the amount councils receive from central government between 2011/12 and 2014/15 contribute significantly to the situation.
The campaign warns that unless something is done, the money available by 2020 for council services such as road maintenance, leisure and library facilities will have shrunk by 90 per cent in cash terms. In Plymouth, core funding from government has reduced from £106 million for 2010/11 to £95 million, a reduction of over 10 per cent in real terms.
Plymouth City Council and others involved the campaign are demanding the crisis is addressed now and are asking for a short term cash injection to meet increasing needs as well as an overhaul of the system for paying and delivering care in the longer term.
Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet member for Public Health and Adult Social Care said: "We are making significant progress with our transformation programmes in Plymouth, ensuring 21st century care for people while making efficiency savings where we can with new ways of working. We have robust plans in place. However, like all councils we still find ourselves facing enormous financial challenges for the future.
"A society is judged by how it takes care of its most vulnerable people. We are doing our best, but at the moment the government isn't doing nearly enough to address the issues we're facing. We need action now, not vague promises. It is totally unacceptable that under the current timetable, people face at least five more years of uncertainty. We want a social care system that provides certainty and stability and that is properly funded."
In Plymouth it is estimated that by 2030 there will be a 40 per cent increase in city residents over 65 with a limiting long term illness and a 60 per cent increase in residents over 65 living with dementia.
The Council currently spends approximately 35 per cent of its net revenue budget on adult social care. Without radical reform of the system, it is highly likely that this proportion will significantly escalate in line with increasing life expectancy and the prevalence of more complex cases.
Improved efficiency will not be enough to cover the huge funding gap. In 2010/11 the cost to councils across the country of providing central services, which includes building costs, administration and IT, was about £3 billion. The cuts required to council services excluding care and waste management are more than five times that figure.
Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman said: "By the end of the decade councils may be forced to wind down some of the most popular services they provide unless urgent action is taken to address the crisis in adult social care funding.
"Efficiency savings won't go close to solving this problem. 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. Local government is best placed to ensure care is provided in a way which offers dignity to the individual and value for money for the taxpayer. It has to be in a position to do that while also delivering the other services local people expect.
"The growing demand for aged care and the considerable reduction to the amount of funding councils receive from government puts us in this position but the issues go beyond our ageing population and the austerity agenda and hits right at the heart of the future of public services."
