Meeting documents

Cllr Adrian Inker

Statement to Cabinet 6 February, 2008

Agenda Item 13 Financial Plan 2008/09 - 2010/11, Budget and Council Tax 2008/09

It is not the Labour Group's intention to comment in detail on the Corporate Plan tonight. We feel that debate is best left for Full Council.

The Labour Group instead will be highlighting concerns about the budget proposals, which, to briefly summarise, are the increases to adult social care charges and cuts to the Employment Development Service, the Youth Service and Libraries.

The Labour Group totally opposes the proposed increase in charges for Adult Social Care Services. The objective here is to provide the Council with additional income to the tune of £190k. But who will be paying for it?

Under this plan, 90 elderly people and disabled people would find that their charges for Home Care increase from £8.04 per hour to £14 per hour. The maximum they pay could increase from £64.50 to a staggering £320 per week.

The proposal also includes increases to the rate for transport from £2 per day to £3 per day. The cost of Community Meals will go from £2.75 to £3.80 per meal. The weekly charge for Community Alarms will increase from £3.25 (or £2.25 for people on means tested benefits) to £3.50 (or £2.50 for those on means tested benefits).

These inflation-busting increases fly in the face of the Council's aim, outlined in the draft Corporate Plan, of increasing the Independence of Older People.

This proposal means that some of our most vulnerable residents will be expected to bear a disproportionate burden in meeting the Council's budget pressures. We are not talking about wealthy people here. The increased costs of Home Care will fall on those with an income just 25% above income support. Elderly and disabled people in need of Home Care may well have problems meeting the costs of these increased charges. They may even be forced to struggle on alone, with the likelihood that we will see increased numbers of costly hospital admissions.

The Labour Group has looked closely at the proposals for growth in the Cabinet's proposal. We have noted that it is planned to invest £100k in procurement activity and £100k in the transformation programme. The expectation, no doubt, is that this investment will result in savings in the longer term. Before this money is committed we would like to know where and when the savings are going to be seen. We would also like assurances that the full figure is required in the first year.

The burden of this budget is being felt by the young and the elderly. The Labour Group believes the burden should be shared by the whole community of Bath and North East Somerset. The Labour Group would therefore like to see the Cabinet go back and look again at alternatives for meeting the budget pressures, including the proposed level of Council Tax, making sure that in doing so, no further cuts are made to frontline services.