Adult social care spending puts pressure on council budget

Increased spending on adult social care is putting pressure on the city council to keep within its budget this year.

Since the last report, the council has managed to reduce its forecast overspend for this financial year by £600,000 but it is still set to end up spending £3.335million more than its budget.

Leading councillors on the authority’s Policy and Resources Committee heard from acting chief finance officer Nigel Manvell on Thursday (February 13) about how the pressure on adult social care had stabilised since September.

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The forecast overspend on adult social care was listed as due to:

• £1,762,000 on care home placements and home care for older people discharged from hospital

• Clinical commissioning group funding reductions of £800,000

• A shortfall in support funding for people who have previously been sectioned of £589,000

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• Unachieved savings from the sustainable social care programme of £440,000

• Unachievable budget savings of £663,000

• £300,000 on issues with new software.

Chair of the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board, Labour councillor Clare Moonan said: “There are a lot more vulnerable people we need to support. People with mental health problems, adults with learning disabilities and an ageing population.

“It’s a pattern we have seen across all of local authorities, the demand for adult social care is just going in one direction.”

She said all parties needed to come together at a national level to find a sustainable solution going forward.

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Other areas with overspends include £969,000 on the home to school transport service for children and young people attending special schools in the city.

Changes made to the service were meant to reduce its £3million budget and an investigation into the issues is underway.

However, the balance in the Families, Children and Learning department is expected to be maintained as there is a forecast underspend of £1,729,000 for children in care.

There has been a fall in the number of children in care in the city.

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Acting executive director for children, families and learning Deb Austin explained it involved a change in the way social workers work by working to keep families together.

Ms Austin said children are not left in unsafe situations.

Labour administration finance lead councillor Daniel Yates told the committee the on-going pressures on adult social care had been recognised for a number of years.

He said next year’s budget, which was recommended for approval at full council by both Labour and Green councillors at the same meeting, had no savings in adult social care, only investment.

Councillor Yates said: “We recognise where our priorities are, just like we recognise where the pressures are and we’re going to make sure we meet those head on.

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“To do anything else would be unquestionably putting at risk some of the most vulnerable people in society.”

Councillor Yates said the council was not in a brilliant position but the situation was not “dreadful”.

He told the committee having watched county councils nationally pulling money from reserves to balance their budgets, he felt the city was in a stronger position than most.

Councillor Yates said by watching spending it is possible Brighton and Hove’s budget will be balanced by the end of the financial year.

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Green councillor Hannah Clare was concerned about a £1million over spend by City Clean and fleet management.

She said: “I’m sure all of our inboxes will show it is not providing the service residents want and deserve?”

Executive director for economy, environment and culture, Nick Hibberd said the over spend was due to higher than expected staff costs due to extra communal bin rounds, extra drivers and refuse collectors.

There were also increased costs of transporting waste directly to Newhaven following the fire at the Hollingdean depot and an increase in vehicle hire.

Going forward he said the budget for next year includes pressure funding of £840,000 for city environmental management and £250,000 adjustment to commercial waste income.

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