BUDGET: Millions of pounds needed to cope with rising demand for social care in Peterborough

Millions of pounds are needed to cope with the rising demand for adult social care in Peterborough.
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Peterborough City Council has set out plans to spend an additional £2.6 million per year by the end of 2020/2021 on adult social care, with the extra money needed due to a rising population and the National Living Wage.

To get to that point, in 2018/19 another £604,000 will be spent on adult social care, which will rise to £1.4 million in 2019/20 and £2.6 million in 2020/21.

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The council said: “Cambridgeshire Research Group’s population growth estimates suggest overall growth in Peterborough between 2016 and 2036 will be 12.9 per cent, from 198,130 to 240,830 residents.

“Growth is anticipated to be highest among older age groups, with predicted increases of 159 per cent in over 85s, 75.8 per cent in the 75-84 age group and 45.6 per cent in residents aged 65-74.

“In 2017/18 the council approved an increase to the adult social care budget by just over £2.3 million to meet demands. However. these demands have increased further and therefore adult social care will require more investment in order to cope with current and future pressures.

There continues to be a significant rise in the number of self-funding residents (those that met the financial threshold) becoming fully funded by the council which contributes to the increased pressure on budgets in the city.

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“Other rising costs on the service relate to young people moving into adult social care services who often require high cost services to respond to complex needs.

“One of the most significant financial pressures is the impact of the National Living Wage on homecare agencies which has increased rates the council is paying for services at a time when funding to councils has reduced dramatically.

“Therefore an additional investment of £604,000 in 2018/19 is proposed to manage increasing costs and demand on adult social care services and to ensure residents receive the care that they need. This will then rise to £2.616 million by 2020/21.”

The council previously increased its adult social care budget by £2.3 million for 2017/18 following a council tax rise.

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Population demand is also leading to a rise in school places, but the council said it is losing funding of £239,000 to educate pupils who have permanently excluded from school, and it expects to lose £144,000 of funding for SEND pupils (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

The population rise in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has seen a 22.4 per cent increase in deaths from 2014 to 2016. For that reason the council will spend an extra £70,000 next year on the coroner service.