SOCIAL CARE SHOULD NOT BE A POSTCODE LOTTERY

POORER COMMUNITIES HIT THE HARDEST BY FINANCE SETTLEMENT

The local government funding settlement for social care in 2019-20 released at the end of December is 'a drop in the ocean' compared to the funding gap expected to reach £3.5 billion by 2025.

offer of £650 million for social care in 2019-20 falls drastically short". said Liberal Democrat Local Government Spokesperson for the House of Lords, Baroness Pinnock.

"Social care should not be a postcode lottery

Responding to the Local Government Finance Settlement, LGA Liberal Democrat Group Leader Howard Sykes said: "The nation continues to face huge uncertainty, as Westminster bickers over Brexit, and our government is a shambles and paralysed. It is councillors who are getting on with the job of supporting people in very difficult circumstances. "

"Many councils have already been forced to take tough decisions about which services have to be scaled back or stopped altogether to plug funding gaps. We must not forget that it is people and communities who feel the impact. Whether it is through seeing their local library or leisure centre close, roads deteriorate or support for young people, families and vulnerable adults cut to the bone".

Liberal Democrat Local Government Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP added :"Liberal Democrats demand better than the sticking plaster that has been presented today. The Tories are once again kicking the can down the road, instead of setting out a long-term financial package that provides security for our local services."

"This settlement does nothing to address the growing inequalities across our country. The highly regressive council tax system means that, as the Conservative Government continue to underfund local government, subsequent council tax rises hit poorer communities the hardest".

"There must be a reform of council tax to prevent the places with the highest demand for services for vulnerable people, struggling the most to fund it".

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