On Wednesday 6 December 2017, the Cabinet discussed the ‘Delivering strengths-based and sustainable adult social care: phase two; Medium Term Financial Strategy savings proposals (2018/19)’. The report lays out proposed additional savings in adult social care in the next financial year (2018-19).
Why do we need to make more savings next year?
Camden’s population is predicted to grow over the coming years, which will put further demands on our adult social care services. We know that to continue to offer support and arrange care for those most in need in Camden we need to change the way we work and reduce both costs and demand in the system.
The financial challenges facing adult social care both nationally and locally have been well documented. By 2018-19, government cuts will mean Camden’s funding will have been more than halved compared to funding levels in 2010. In Camden, we are working to make savings in the right areas now, while transforming the way we deliver adult social care services to create a sustainable service for the people of Camden now and into the future.
In December 2016, the Cabinet agreed the principles of our new strategic plan Supporting people, connecting communities – our plan for living and ageing well in Camden 2018-2025 (published in October 2017), alongside an ‘invest to change’ programme to make further savings in adult social care in 2018-19.
In Camden 3% was added to council tax bill last year , which was ring-fenced for adult social care, so why do you need to make more savings?
This has supported the payment of the London Living Wage and Ethical Care Charter costs in homecare, both of which are important to ensure the quality of local care provision, investment in transformation and short-term funding until the savings made this year come into effect in 2018-19. This does not cover the additional savings needed in 2018-19 agreed by Cabinet in December 2017.
How will these proposed savings impact on services provided by the Council?
Over time, through our new strategic plan Supporting people, connecting communities, we will be fully adopting the strengths-based approach across Camden. This means we will focus more on what people can do and build upon that rather than focusing on what they can’t do, working with them to build resilience, delay the need for statutory services where possible, and help them maintain their independence for longer.
This year our review team have carried out a large number of care and support reviews for older people and people with physical disabilities using this approach. This work will deliver £1.35 million of savings by the end of 2017-18 and we are proposing to continue with this work into 2018-19 to deliver an additional £985,000 of savings next year. This is just one example of how we can make savings across adult social care, while continuing to provide support for the people of Camden, by making sure they have the right care that will enable them to live safe and meaningful lives in their community.
