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Budget Letter to Members
Please note that the consultation on the budget is now closed. Thank you for taking part in this.
In order to register the concerns of learning disability carers so that Local Authority Members take account of them when deciding the budget for the next 3 years, we have prepared a standard letter which you can send just as it is by putting your name and email address in the boxes below, or to which you can add comments if you wish. Your email will be sent automatically to every Local Authority Member for Kirklees. Any response would come to you direct.
All you need to do is add your name and email address in the boxes below and press Submit.
Dear Member,
I am a family carer for an adult with a learning disability in Kirklees, and I am writing to feed into the current budget debate.
Like other carers, I am in no doubt about the scale of cuts that are required, and the huge challenges that you and your fellow Members face in trying to make sense of it all.
In the midst of the debate there is a risk that the more vocal single-issue lobbyists will appear to have the strongest arguments, whilst other groups who do not register their views will be assumed to have no points to make. One such group will be carers, whose energies will be largely devoted to their caring role, and who therefore may fail to contribute to the debate.
As a family carer there are three things that I would wish you to take into account....
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The help that the Council provides to people with learning disabilities is not a luxury. It is the means by which they are supported to have a basic quality of life and some small elements of choice about their lives.. Other services enhance the quality of their users' lives. Adult Services support to people with learning disabilities is far more basic, and far more essential.
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As an unpaid family carer I provide the care to an adult whose care needs according to the law are the responsibility of public services. The care that I offer is therefore saving the public purse thousands of pounds a year. Carers UK put this figure at about £18-£19k a year. The support that the Council provides, which I value greatly, enables me to keep going, and to continue to offer that care. If that is removed or reduced, my ability to provide care will be under threat, and ultimately I may have to pass the responsibility back to public services to take over. The partnership between the Council and carers is a cost-effective way to proceed, but only if the support offered makes it possible for carers to provide what they can.
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Caring is not a short term commitment. I have now been doing it for years, and the impact on my life has been profound - both positive and negative. I am not wanting to give up on it now, but removal or reduction of support to the person I care for will unbalance the situation, and make the task far more difficult and demanding..and may cause my ability to fail, even if my commitment to the person I care for is as strong as ever.
The adult care budget could be a target for cuts because of its size.....but the impact of any cuts in it will profoundly affect not just those it directly supports, but also those who provide the care unpaid. They are therefore likely to end up costing the Council more than they save in both the short term and the long term.
Your additional comments
Yours sincerely,
Your name
In order to send the above, simply add your details into the boxes below and press Submit.