Meeting documents

MOTION 1

This Council is extremely disappointed, on behalf its residents that the Government is continually choosing to ignore the plight of children, families and adults needing our support.

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Local Government Association and others have repeatedly urged the government to urgently address the deepening funding gap facing children’s services, expected to be £2bn by 2020. The Government has again failed to listen to and address the continuing funding gap for children’s and adult social care. National bodies representing each of these services have repeatedly, and loudly, warned of the serious consequences of the Government ignoring the funding pressures facing Councils like ours.

Both adults and childrens services also rely on the financial sustainability of other services our Council provides. The only way to protect the vital services which care for the elderly, the disabled, and to protect children and support families is for central Government to invest additional new money.

As a result of this Governments continuing underfunding of these services, our ability to invest in the preventative aspects in both these services is severely diminished. This i.s leading nationally to children and families entering the child protection system in record numbers and the elderly and disabled not receiving appropriate and necessary care

This Council believes the Government needs to provide Councils with a long term, sustainable solution, this is urgently needed to prevent us from becoming another “blue light” service. To give Councils the resources they need to provide the support that all these groups need, when they need it, is the only solution.

Within a system that is already struggling to cope with unprecedented levels of demand, and the reduction in general Government support to our Council, this is becoming impossible. The alternative means risking more and more families and individuals reaching a critical stage where Councils have no choice but to intervene to keep everyone safe.

Councils, national representative bodies, charities and care providers have repeatedly warned of and continue to warn of the serious consequences of funding pressures on all who use our services, their carers and the provider market.

It is fundamentally unfair of the Government to shift the burden of tackling a national funding crisis onto Councils and their residents. In particular the Adult Social Care Council Tax Precept policy has a vastly different effect in different areas as authorities with a lower tax base are not be able to raise as much income as those authorities with a higher tax base. In addition, the ability to raise and collect Council tax is not related to need.

This Council calls upon the relevant Ministers along with our local MP’s to address the very significant issues both our own and other Councils are facing in protecting our most vulnerable children and adults and for the Government to face up to its own Duty of Care as we as a local Council are expected to do.

Mover             Councillor Vicky McGurk

Seconder       Councillor Julie Gunn

 MOTION 2

This Council is concerned at the lack of involvement of Members in the  allocation of section 106 monies in local areas. It asks the Executive Member to draw up a scheme that will involve local Members in the process of determining the use of these monies.

Mover  Councillor David Foster

Seconder Councillor Roy Davies