Cambridgeshire social care budget passed but remains controversial

Cambridgeshire councillors have passed a new budget in contentious circumstances, cutting £43m from public expenditure central to which was £12m worth of savings to be made from social care services.

Opposition leaders had attacked the plans as impractical, pointing to previous experience in attempting to trim back on social care spending in a similar manner that produced no effective results.

The budget meeting, held at Shire Hall, saw two councillors walk out furiously after Tory members refused any further debate on financial alternatives, with Lib Dem Fiona Whelan branding the process as ‘a joke’, while the evening gave way to a protest from campaign group Cambridgeshire Against the Cuts.

Despite social care savings being at the centre of the debate, the council has in fact increased expenditure by £6.4m, financed via a 2.95 per cent increase in council tax after the well-being of the elderly was recognised as chief amongst public concerns, alongside economic growth and the support of new business.

Council leader Nick Clarke commented, ‘We are protecting the most vulnerable in our society by investing more in adult social care while working harder to drive down savings and work better with partners to improve the quality of life and health for residents.’

The effectiveness of the cuts looks likely to be judged on whether the council can avoid seeking a bailout with transfers from reserves, as has happened in previous years.