This is the moment the Labour Party needs to recover from the sense of doom that seems to have affected it since the General and County defeats. Of course the local press coverage is appalling (but what's new) as they don't expalain what will happen so leaving people confused until it is too late. Anyway I am so annoyed and angry that the following is the letter I've sent to the LEP and the Advertiser. Wonder if it worth me sending elsewhere or feel free to use it to your local paper putting your name to it.
"County Council Budget proposals
I read the details of the County Council proposals for Adult and Community Services with a growing sense of horror and disbelief.
The first proposal to reduce fees paid to care homes is both cowardly and cruel. The problem is that care homes like householders will be facing higher bills for energy and food as well as insurance which I am sure will be somewhere around 4% or more. Instead of being able to meet these costs the operators will find that their income will reduce. They will either have to cut costs in some way which may well impact on residents or seek higher top up payments from residents and their families. They will be blamed either way when in fact the responsibility will lie in County Hall. In addition they will cut the income to the care homes they operate and how the County Council will meet this reduction is a moot point and not clear from the documents. The statement that “Reducing fee levels should not affect the overall level of service provided to service users” frankly cannot be justified. It may help County Councillors who vote for this to sleep at night but it is simply a smokescreen that they cannot deliver. This particularly true when added to the freeze in future years which will create ever greater problems and serve to reduce the choice available to residents of Lancashire in future.
The second attack in the form of the removal of services from people with a assessment of moderate need is equally callous and mean. It is also very problematic as the Council cannot know what it will save so there is no guarantee that the saving will be achieved. I was proud of the fact that Lancashire was able to maintain this level of service during my time as Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services. This cut will will probably not save as much as expected in time as the Council estimate as the speed with which people reach a substantial need will increase and so more people will need a service raising the Council's costs. At that point will they then cut adrift those with a substantial assessment and restrict their service to those defined as critical?
The cuts to non-residential are the third example of blind slashing of the adult care budget. The bland statement that “The level of demand continues to rise both in terms of numbers and complexity of need. Alternative supports are not appropriate or available” is clear proof that people using these services will be abandoned by the County Council with a shrug of their collective shoulders.
Of course they will probably say “we don't want to do this” and maybe they will mean it but then they kept saying they would “protect front line services” and that is a promise this budget has not kept. I do recognise the problem this government has created for the County Council and every Lancashire MP who supported the budget cuts that produced this cruel and vicious budget should hang their head in shame alongside any County Councillor who votes for this budget. I only wish my Tory successor had the decency to resign over this budget but I suspect he won't.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Cheetham
Cabinet member for Adult and Community Services 2001 – 2008
Lancashire County Council"
Not sure if its the weather or the good news from Anfield but I am spoiling for a fight so how do we make them jump? I know we can't stop them but we can make them squirm surely!
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