A council is seeking views on plans to cut almost £4m from its adult social care budget in the face of “stark and urgent” financial position.
On Thursday (September 26), East Sussex County Council’s cabinet agreed to go out to consultation on potential cut a range of services, including day centres for both elderly and disabled people, drugs and alcohol recovery, and housing support for vulnerable people.
Councillors heard how these potential adult social care cuts, which total £3.994m, come as the council prepares to face a projected budget gap of £83.6m over the coming three years.
Introducing the proposals, Conservative council leader Keith Glazier said: “Today’s report is probably one of the most difficult I have had to deal within in my time as a councillor. We are only looking to go out and consult … and we look forward to getting views of users and our residents.
“But the financial situation we are now facing, due mainly … to increases on social care, be that adults or children, which are totally out of the control of this organisation.
“We’ve got cost increases in children’s placements of 96 per cent over the last 20 years and in adults 40 per cent. The amount of increase we’ve had in council tax and government grant gets nowhere near that.”
As the wider debate began, Cllr David Tutt, leader of the council’s Liberal Democrat group, argued the council’s financial troubles were the result of Conservative policy.
He said: “How do we find ourselves in the situation we are in today? You will forgive me perhaps for saying that the Conservatives have got to take the responsibility for that.
“The Conservatives have been in control here for 23 years and in national government for 14 years until very recently. I actually lay the majority of the blame not with yourselves at East Sussex, but with the national government.
“They have starved local government of funds, they have ensured that monies that were given in revenue support grant have been taken away whilst at the same time they’ve increased the demand on local government in order to provide services.”
He added: “The people who are going to pay the price for that action or inaction by the government are the most vulnerable within our community.”
Labour’s group leader Chris Collier, meanwhile, argued for alternative measures to avoid the cuts, such as the redevelopment of County Hall (a matter discussed by the council’s place scrutiny committee earlier in the week).
Cllr Collier said: “I’ll be clear now. If it came to February and these savings had gone through a consultation and were part of a budget, I wouldn’t be supporting them.
“You said you were listening, so I should come up with some solutions … the biggest questions residents are going to have is about this building. We’ve got a multimillion pound asset that is being underutilised along with several other buildings that stand empty across the county.
“On Monday, the favoured option for this building was to do nothing until 2030, ostensibly because there were some leases in place. We’ve heard that the land value of the building was not as much as we think, even though Lewes District Council has struggled to build in Lewes because of land availability and land value.”
He added: “Whilst there has been a conversation with the district council, no options appraisal on a working partnership with the district council has taken place. That partnership could include supported housing which could support individuals with complex needs and reduce demand.”
Green Party councillor Anne Cross argued that the types of cuts proposed would cost more in the longer term. She said: “We find ourselves in this position because of political decisions that have been made in the past; I am convinced of that.
“We are talking about cutting services for vulnerable people. We know that for every vulnerable person whose services are cut, that affects not only them but their families, their friends and our whole community.
“When services are particularly around prevention that comes back to haunt us later down the road. Whether it’s the towns, the boroughs or us in the services we provide in the future; the expense is going to be there.”
Conservative councillor Carl Maynard, cabinet member for adult social care, took a different view. He said: “It is right that we engage with residents, but it is also absolutely right that we make it clear that these consultations are … within the context of a national budget that has yet to be set and within the context that we are listening. It is beholden on us as members of this authority to make that very clear to residents.
“When we heard, even as early as [this week’s] people scrutiny committee that there were members there that suggested that these decisions had been made. To say so is not only reprehensible, but it is wrong. This is a proper consultation across a number of services and a number of facilities where we provide services.
“This is all about gathering intelligence to make an informed decision when we make our budget choices, but the national government will need to make their budget choices and it needs to be seen also in the context of that.”
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The potential cuts include plans to close two day services for older people — the Phoenix Centre in Lewes and Milton Grange in Eastbourne.
Also being considered are cuts to a range of services for people with learning disabilities, including the Steps to Work training programme and two day centres — Linden Court in Eastbourne and Hookstead in Crowborough.
There are also proposals to stop on-site support in supported accommodation for vulnerable adults and adults with mental health needs, significantly reducing funding for housing-related support services and not renewing contracts for drug and alcohol recovery services across the county.
Chief executive Becky Shaw said: “I think it is really important … to recognise that this authority provides incredibly important services and support, with our partners, to our residents, to our businesses, to the communities and families of East Sussex.
“We are acutely aware of the impact that these consultations and other potential consultations and the potential changes will have on the people who we work with, our staff and on our partners.
“The proposals in front of you are what we consider the least worst options. They are absolutely no reflection of the value and quality of the services we have provided.”
The council will also go out to consultation on plans to implement a booking system at its recycling centres — a move the council says will result in savings of around £50,000.
Councillors also heard how further savings proposals are expected to be bought forward as planning for the 2025/26 budget continues.
