Councillors Consider The Impact Of ‘Unitary’ Plans On Adult Social Services

Councillors will be asked next week to consider the impact on the city’s Adult Social Services if plans for a unitary Norwich City Council are given the go ahead.

At a meeting of Norfolk County Council’s Adult Social Services Review Panel next Monday, members will hear a report about the potential effect of unitary status on the city’s Adult Social Services – currently delivered by the county council.

As part of the City Council’s bid it states that 427 staff from Adult Social Services would transfer over to a Unitary Norwich City Council and that 60 of these posts would be ‘rationalised’ or removed at a cost of £1.069m in redundancy or early retirement payments.

Councillors will be told that the City’s bid identifies that the posts they will take over are front-line staff, such as domiciliary assistants, social workers, managers of homes for the elderly, home support assistants, care assistants, residential care workers, night care domiciliary assistants, assistant Meals on Wheels managers and support workers.

Adult Social Services currently helps to care for 3,620 older people in Norwich and directly provides five residential and housing with care schemes for older people, these assets would all pass over to a new Norwich unitary council.

Chris Mowle, Cabinet member for Adult Social Services said: “I very much hope that members of the public will come along to the Review Panel meeting and hear what the potential impact will be on Adult Social Services in Norwich if the city’s bid for unitary status goes ahead.”