Protecting the vulnerable

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We will put the necessary resources in place to support those who depend on our care and support. We have obligations, particularly in relation to adult social care, children’s social care and special educational needs, to ensure that our budget reflects the needs of residents who require our help. Overall, we are proposing investing a further £14 million over the next two years to meet this goal.

Proposals

(1.1) An additional investment of £203,000 for next year to support the rising number of adults with learning disabilities. This is on top of previous additional budget that the Council had already planned for, as more young people with learning disabilities move into adulthood.

(1.2) An additional £621,000 for the next two years to ensure there is sufficient funding in place to support those with mental health care needs. This is needed as more people experience mental health challenges and more investment is likely to be needed in subsequent years. Potential savings of £525,000 can be delivered in the next two years to offset this investment by reviewing support to ensure it is flexible to meet the needs of local people and reducing the use of provision outside the borough.

(1.3) Investment to support the growing number of older people requiring support: We anticipate that the likely budget for care at home and care homes related to older people will require a further £1.9 million for the next two years.

(1.4) A further £55,000 next year to maintain the provision of disability rights advice and support. We expect requests for this support to increase through the cost of living crisis.

(1.5) Additional funding to support children at risk and early help for families: As COVID-19 restrictions eased, it was clear that there were more children requiring care and support. This has been experienced nationally. One impact of this is that more children have come into the care of the local authority to ensure they are safe. This has increased demand and costs for things like foster care placements, social workers and specialist support. In addition, this situation has put early help services under pressure, affecting our ability to work with families at an earlier stage to help avoid them slipping into crisis. To meet this challenge, it is proposed that an additional £6.9 million is invested into children’s social care and early help services over the next two years. The investment in early help could save £6 million in future years by reducing the numbers of children and young people requiring care and specialist support.

(1.6) Additional investment to provide support services to children and young people in schools: To reflect the budget pressures on schools for services such as educational psychology and increasing attendance, we are proposing to invest £464,000 over the next two years.

(1.7) Increase in funding for home to school transport services: We are proposing to increase funding for home to school transport by £5.1 million over the next two years as more children become eligible for this support in both mainstream and special schools. This will be offset by a saving of £640,000 over the next two years as we review contracts, increase the take up of personal travel budgets and undertake a review of available school places, with a particular focus on enabling more children to access schools closer to the community they live in, thereby reducing the need for transport.

We will put the necessary resources in place to support those who depend on our care and support. We have obligations, particularly in relation to adult social care, children’s social care and special educational needs, to ensure that our budget reflects the needs of residents who require our help. Overall, we are proposing investing a further £14 million over the next two years to meet this goal.

Proposals

(1.1) An additional investment of £203,000 for next year to support the rising number of adults with learning disabilities. This is on top of previous additional budget that the Council had already planned for, as more young people with learning disabilities move into adulthood.

(1.2) An additional £621,000 for the next two years to ensure there is sufficient funding in place to support those with mental health care needs. This is needed as more people experience mental health challenges and more investment is likely to be needed in subsequent years. Potential savings of £525,000 can be delivered in the next two years to offset this investment by reviewing support to ensure it is flexible to meet the needs of local people and reducing the use of provision outside the borough.

(1.3) Investment to support the growing number of older people requiring support: We anticipate that the likely budget for care at home and care homes related to older people will require a further £1.9 million for the next two years.

(1.4) A further £55,000 next year to maintain the provision of disability rights advice and support. We expect requests for this support to increase through the cost of living crisis.

(1.5) Additional funding to support children at risk and early help for families: As COVID-19 restrictions eased, it was clear that there were more children requiring care and support. This has been experienced nationally. One impact of this is that more children have come into the care of the local authority to ensure they are safe. This has increased demand and costs for things like foster care placements, social workers and specialist support. In addition, this situation has put early help services under pressure, affecting our ability to work with families at an earlier stage to help avoid them slipping into crisis. To meet this challenge, it is proposed that an additional £6.9 million is invested into children’s social care and early help services over the next two years. The investment in early help could save £6 million in future years by reducing the numbers of children and young people requiring care and specialist support.

(1.6) Additional investment to provide support services to children and young people in schools: To reflect the budget pressures on schools for services such as educational psychology and increasing attendance, we are proposing to invest £464,000 over the next two years.

(1.7) Increase in funding for home to school transport services: We are proposing to increase funding for home to school transport by £5.1 million over the next two years as more children become eligible for this support in both mainstream and special schools. This will be offset by a saving of £640,000 over the next two years as we review contracts, increase the take up of personal travel budgets and undertake a review of available school places, with a particular focus on enabling more children to access schools closer to the community they live in, thereby reducing the need for transport.