Proposed budget cuts

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive will be considering its 2013-14 budget on Tuesday. The needs of the most vulnerable people in society are covered by children’s services so it’s worth looking at some of the cuts proposed. 

One of the biggest cuts is in ‘High cost learning disability and physical disability residential placements’ - £600,000. CBC pledges no change to quality of care for users but plans to make savings by ‘contract negotiations’.  The plan adds ‘May result in opposition from current providers’. I bet it will.

There are also savings on care packages for those with learning disabilities (£425,000) and at-home care for ‘older people, adults with learning disabilities and supported housing’ (£362,000).  It’s interesting that in the latter there is no pledge that quality will be maintained. Again like residential placement savings these are to come about through ‘contract negotiations’ and, again, there may be ‘opposition from current providers’.

There are other big big savings proposed including £1.2 million from non-disability residential care.  CBC comments that it will invest more money on ‘preventative solutions’ and ‘reablement.’ Presumably the hope is that this leads to a lesser need for residential care.

Last year CBC cut staff pay. This year they are going to try to cut contractor payments.  It is hard to see how good quality services can be delivered in these circumstances. Under the guise of ‘efficiency’ people with the greatest needs will pay for the deficit. There’s something not right about that.  Nor am I seeing a strong alternative to that, at the moment, from other political parties. The ‘fat’ if it ever existed is gone and there are only the limbs left.

For the full proposed budget see CBC budget consultation