A thought-provoking, and for many extremely worrying article appeared in the Local Government Executive Update newsletter published on 2nd July 2014. It appeared under the headline LGA warns of “make or break year” for adult social care as councils face £5.8bn funding black hole.
We reproduce below the first few paragraphs (although it is a relatively concise article and would not take long to read in full). Unfortunately, but predictably, this will not be the last time we read of ‘black holes’ and ‘funding gaps’…
“Councils in England face a funding “black hole” of £5.8bn between March 2014 and the end of 2015-16 due to a combination of falling central government funding and rising demand, with leaders warning that 2015 could be a “make or break” year for adult social care, according to the Local Government Association.
>New analysis by the organisation shows councils will have to make “huge” cuts equivalent to 12.5 per cent of their total budgets before next April.
The funding gap for adult social care alone is expected to top £1.9bn by 2015-16 based on budgets for 2013-14. The association said that councils will continue to prioritise protecting adult social care, but this could come at the expense of buses, libraries and leisure centres.”
An analysis of the LGA’s predictions by the local government correspondent Mike Sergeant has now been posted on the BBC News website in which Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis is quoted as saying that the LGA claims were “doom laden and alarmist”. We await further developments.