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Time for carers to use their voice on the Council budget
Several weeks ago, the Council published draft budgets for the next three years. By the middle of February final decisions have to be made …. and it is not a good prospect.
Speaking at a meeting last week the Council's Chief Executive, Adrian Lythgo, said:
'I don't think the public noticed the cuts of the last three years, but they sure as hell will notice them this time. Vulnerable adults and children take up more than 65% of the Council's budget, and we need to find ways of reducing the £168m spend. The Council is proposing to cut the budget for children and adults to £133m by 2018. We will prioritise the vulnerable in the first two years, but in the third year there's a real cash gap. If that is followed through on I have no idea how we will meet that gap.'
As Local Authority Members prepare to make very difficult decisions, we are concerned that carers need to feed their views into the process, and to register the importance of the support that the Council provides for those they care for, in helping them to keep going as carers.
We are well aware of the pressures on carers, and the difficulty of finding time to write to Members. The Learning Disability Carers Network have found a way to do this, (and Carers Count are going to use the same method for other carers). So as to make it as easy as possible, we have prepared a letter which you can send at the click of a button from this website. You can, if you wish, add a bit to the email, but you can also send it just as it is. All you have to do is to fill in your name and email address, and click 'Submit', and your email will go directly to every Local Authority Member. It's as easy as that.