Seems it’s a waste of time trying to extract sympathy from the government for the funding crisis faced by local government.
Bath’s Lib-Dem MP, Wera Hobhouse, recently confronted Simon Hoare, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on the causes and solutions for council budget deficits.
Wera Hobhouse asked Simon Hoare what assessment he had made of the causes of council budget deficits following recent overwhelming financial pressures on councils across the country.
The Bath MP specifically highlighted the impressive work done by Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council to bring social care provision in-house so that care services will be run by the council, with local accountability. However, she grilled the Minister for Local Government on whether he would commit to extra funding for B&NES Council to ease their extreme financial strain.
Minister Hoare commended the work of B&NES Council, suggesting that their flexibility and innovation to deliver quality services in a cost-efficient way could be replicated by other local authorities. However, he failed to give the Bath MP the clarity she had asked for. Instead, Simon Hoare responded that his department worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to review adult social care and ensure that those most in need received services in a timely fashion.
With talk of a Tory rebellion looming over council budget deficits, the Bath MP is urging the government to give councils the funding they desperately need.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, commented:
“I am glad that Minister Hoare can recognise the exemplary work of Bath’s Liberal Democrat run-Council in bringing adult social care in-house. However, it is his Party’s cuts that have left councils up and down the country in dire need of more funding.
“The Conservatives are all talk and no action. It is time they gave B&NES Council the resources they need and seriously addressed the structural funding crisis in social care.”
Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet member for Adult Services, commented:
“Councils across the country are facing an enormous financial challenge this year, particularly relating to the spiralling cost of social care services, which take an ever-increasing portion of the council’s resources. Despite this, the government continues to ignore the funding crisis. In B&NES, we are proud to be bringing care services back in house, to protect the most vulnerable people in our community and ensure we deliver the best value for residents.”
