Long-term cooperation from the Government is vital for local authorities facing the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic and rising care costs, Staffordshire County Council’s leader has said.
Cllr Philip Atkins made his comments after outlining how more than £210million had been spent on care services for older people in 2019/20.
He warned that the financial impact of rising costs in the sector alongside the COVID-19 crisis would put a strain on the council going forward.
“At the moment the cost to the county council of supporting care homes, key workers, communities, businesses and vulnerable people in Staffordshire during the coronavirus pandemic will be in the region of £50million and we have received around £38million in support from Government.
“Looking ahead, before coronavirus struck, we had allocated two-thirds of this year’s budget to adult care and supporting vulnerable children and young people so the future implications for this authority, particularly around the rising costs of adult care and children’s services remain a serious concern.
“We are rightly accountable for how we spend our money and we cannot borrow to fund day-to-day services, so we need to work with central Government to help our communities recover economically in the short term and, in the long term, find a sustainable solution to the national problem of providing social care.”
Cllr Philip Atkins, Staffordshire County Council
The county council said the coronavirus had already seen £2million spent on additional PPE and £20million to support care homes.
