Nottingham city councillors say the Government's 'failure' to fund adult social care is one of the main reasons why they are planning to raise council tax by 5%. A gap of £32 million in Nottingham City Council's budget next year means that the authority has launched a consultation on a range of cost-cutting measures to try and fill it.
As well as the savings proposed, including the withdrawal of the wheelchair hire service from the Victoria Centre, the council is planning to increase council tax by 5%. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his budget that local councils will now be able to increase council tax by 4.99% without a referendum, and Nottingham City Council is planning to do so for the next two years.
The authority then plans to raise council tax by 2% for the following two years. Within the 5% tax increase, 2% of it goes towards funding adult social care specifically.
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At an executive board meeting discussing the proposed financial plans on Tuesday (December 20), several councillors criticised the Government's approach to adult social care. When Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, he proposed a Health and Social Care Levy which would have involved a rise in National Insurance to fund social care and the wider health service.
This policy was then scrapped under the Government of Liz Truss. When Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, reforms including a cap on personal care cost contributions were then delayed for two years.
Councillor Adele Williams, Nottingham City Council's deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance, said at Tuesday's meeting: "It is absolutely the case that taxpayers in Nottingham are being asked to foot the bill for the Government's failure to fix adult social care. It has been repeatedly promised that this is something that will be addressed, and it's been repeatedly a broken promise.
"The Government is effectively sneaking the bill for their failure into the pockets of Nottingham taxpayers. I think it is an unforgivable position that in a cost of living crisis, the Government is heaping yet more pressure on citizens in Nottingham."
The Government has recently set out its initial proposals for the funding of local authorities for the next two financial years, starting in April 2023. Its plans, released on Monday (December 19), include an increase in the social care grant of over £1 billion next year, rising to nearly £2 billion next year for authorities across England.
In a statement on the matter, levelling up secretary Michael Gove said: "Government has listened, and we know that many local authorities are already facing difficult decisions brought on by inflationary and demand pressures. This is why we are providing around £2 billion in additional grant for social care, compared to 2022/23.
"The council tax referendum provisions are not a cap, nor do they force councils to set taxes at the threshold level. When taking decisions on council tax levels, local authorities should recognise the pressures many households are facing."
But Councillor Linda Woodings, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for adult social care and health, added at Tuesday's meeting: "The adult social care system is struggling to recruit and retain staff and we are struggling to get people out of bed when they are well enough to be discharged. That's because of a lack of those home care packages.
"We're still left with this quandary of how to fund adult social care and it's a nettle that the Government just won't grasp. Very regrettably, we have been forced to consider levying the full precept that we're allowed this year."
Changes to adult social care in Nottingham planned as part of the aim to plug the £32 million budget gap next year include more independent living support instead of residential or nursing care. The council's executive board meeting endorsed all of its savings proposals and they are now out for a public consultation, which runs until January 25 and which people can take part in here.
When asked after the meeting whether issues including the Robin Hood Energy collapse and the misspending of £40 million weakened Nottingham City Council's argument on funding, Councillor Adele Williams told Nottinghamshire Live: "Every council in a place like Nottingham are finding huge gaps in their budgets.
"Those gaps are driven by inflation, by the cost of living, by a pay rise which our staff certainly deserve but which the Government doesn't fund and by an unfair system of funding local services." The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for additional comment.
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