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• Audit Commission report on social care budgets points way to ‘toxic cocktail’, says Unite
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Audit Commission report on social care budgets points way to ‘toxic cocktail’, says Unite

28 October 2010

The Audit Commission’s report on social care budgets has sparked concern that some of the most vulnerable in society could be further hit by the impact of the coalition’s cuts.

Unite, the largest union in the country, fears that the swingeing cuts to the NHS and local government budgets will mean that thousands of vulnerable people, often with mental health problems, won’t be sufficiently supported to take control of their own social care funding.

The new commission report - reviewing progress towards people taking control of their own social care funding - said that councils are facing major challenges in getting their financial arrangements right, and that some authorities are lagging behind and are not on course to meet national plans.

Unite assistant general secretary for public services, Gail Cartmail, raised three concerns stemming from the report which was unveiled today (Thursday 28 October).

She said: ”The Audit Commission has an honourable track record of revealing uncomfortable truths and in the context of the coalition’s so-called ‘austerity experiment', it seems very ill-advised to consign it to the bonfire of quangos, as was announced in August.

”Secondly, faced with drastic spending cuts, how will councils lagging behind with their social care budget programmes build the capacity to catch up?

”Finally, add to this the combined impact of the NHS picking up the slack from spending cuts to community-based support; the £20 billion efficiency savings demanded by ministers; and the disruption and expense of the coalition’s NHS  ‘privatisation reforms’, and you have a very toxic cocktail.

”The commission’s report is a timely warning of how our most vulnerable citizens may well fall through the net - in this case, those with mental health needs.“   

ENDS

Notes to news editors: For further information, please contact Gail Cartmail on 07768 931 305 and/or Unite communications officer, Shaun Noble on 07768 693 940.

A personal budget is an allocation of money given to a person to spend on an adult social care support plan. The personal budget holder develops their support plan with social care professionals to meet a jointly agreed set of needs and outcomes. Holders decide how to spend their budget in ways they think will achieve their agreed outcomes.