Renfrewshire social work budget ‘balanced on a knife-edge’

The social work budget in Renfrewshire is balanced on a knife-edge according to Council Leader, Mark Macmillan (pictured).

Councillor Macmillan is set to write to Alex Neil MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing outlining how rising demand is stretching the budget to breaking point. He is expected to call on the Scottish Government to provide adequate funding to meet the growing needs of Renfrewshire’s aging population.

Councillor Macmillan said, “Social work services in Renfrewshire do an incredible job in meeting the needs of the vulnerable members of our community. Renfrewshire works very closely with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and we are one of the best performing councils in terms of reducing delayed discharges from hospital for older people.

“We have also been very successful in delivering on the key Scottish Government policy of helping people to live safely in their own homes for as long as possible.

“But this success comes at a huge cost. The inescapable fact is that there are more and more people who need increasingly complex care and clearly we wish to provide them with the best care available. Locally, and nationally, the growing number of people who need support means the whole system of social care funding is creaking at the seams.

“Self directed support is also having a significant impact. While the new legislation provides more choice and control for service users and their carers it also places an extra strain on the budget.

“Under the new legislation we must offer service users and carers an alternative to the services provided by the local authority. This can either be through a direct payment, an individual budget or for the alternative to be chosen by the service user and organised by the council.

“This means we have to pay twice to provide service users with a genuine choice – once to maintain our own services, which are highly valued by many customers, and a second time by funding an alternative. In the long term this is not affordable.”