Leicestershire to cut £25M from social care budget

A budget to tackle a £110 million funding gap by 2018, including £25M from social care, has been agreed by Leicestershire County Council.

Including this year’s savings, the council has to reduce spending by £110 million by 2018 – with savings of £87 million over the next four years.

The cuts, which were passed by a 28-22 vote, include £12.6m from children and young people’s services and £22.7m from the adult care & communities budget.

Other savings include cuts to voluntary groups and a reduction in social care placements.

Up to 700 full time posts will go, in addition to 600 redundancies that have taken place over the previous three years

Deputy leader Byron Rhodes, the council’s lead member for finance, said he had put forward a ‘sustainable plan which secures the council’s finances’.