 The following numbers give an indication of the challenges we face and some of the pressures on our services:
• In the last five years it is estimated that the number of nights of temporary accommodation we provide for homeless families has increased 68 fold;
• Each day approximately 1,120 clients receive a home care visit. In total there are over 2,000 visits on an average day;
• Since September 2012, there has been a 66% increase in the number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan
The simple fact is that the reduction in funding from central government means we are no longer able to do everything we would like to. In 2015 the grant we received from central government was £30.1 million. This is estimated to fall to £0.9 million by 2021. It is falling by £4.4 million next year alone.
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Last year, the Council invested an additional £4.4 million into social care to support our vulnerable adults. We anticipate that we will need to invest a further £4.0 million during 2018/19. This additional resource is to meet the growing number of people receiving care and also increasingly complex care packages. This extra funding will also enable our local care providers to meet the cost of paying the National Living Wage to their staff.
The government has said that in order to help fund the growing care needs, councils can levy a further 6% Council Tax increase over 2 or 3 years. This is on top of the up to 1.99% we can otherwise increase Council Tax by. We do not believe this is a proper solution to meet the needs of our growing older population but rather a ‘sticking plaster’ over a lack of ongoing funding for social care.
Before taking decisions around how the Council will meet the care needs of local residents and the increase in Council Tax to fund it, we want to hear the views of Bedford Borough residents.
We are interested to hear what your views are on whether you would support the increase in Council Tax to cover the increasing demand for Adult Social Care and any ideas or comments you may have around the Council’s budget.
You can also have your say in the following ways:
Email: consultingbedford@bedford.gov.uk
Write to: Consulting Bedford, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AP
Comments should be received by Friday 15th December and will be published.
Like having your say? Here are some useful links....
• Consultations Database
• Traffic Regulation Orders
• Planning Portal
• Public Path Orders
• Modification Orders
• Petitions
• Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group Consultations & Engagement
• Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Consultations
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