The Cabinet Member in charge of finances told councillors at today’s meeting that until the Government adequately funds social care, Kent tax payers will continue to bear the brunt of rising costs and demands on KCC services.
Not only are costs for care rising sharply, but more and more vulnerable people across Kent are calling on KCC for vital help and support. The cost of caring for vulnerable adults in Kent has leapt by £80m in the last year. There are many factors at play, including having to fund increasingly complex conditions, the higher cost of care placements, and the increased financial pressure on care providers after they were hit with a double whammy in the Chancellor’s Autumn budget of changes to employers’ national insurance, and an increase in the National Living Wage.
“There is no cavalry coming over the hill. There is only the hill. So, we have to have a budget fit for that stretching environment, setting us up for a number of years, which is what this budget does.”
At KCC’s budget meeting today, Leader Roger Gough told Members: “This is the right budget for the tough times in which we have to operate. There is no cavalry coming over the hill. There is only the hill. So, we have to have a budget fit for that stretching environment, setting us up for a number of years, which is what this budget does.
“It reluctantly but realistically increases council tax, it continues transformation and savings in the key areas, makes progress towards the nearly £20m in policy savings, and starts to replenish our reserves to ensure that we have resilience for what is to come.
KCC Leader Roger Gough addresses the budget meeting
“The bleakest picture of all remains in adult social care. An area that remains under severe pressure, an area of structural flaws in terms of policy which only Government can actually address. This Government could say, with some justification, that successive administrations of whatever party have failed and fudged this issue. Nonetheless in these last 7 months we have seen a lethal cocktail of policies that make this so very much worse.
“Cost increases, in particular in terms of employer’s national insurance, as well as increases in the national living wage, we have taken together, giving an 11% increase in providers’ costs and presenting a real risk to the stability of that sector. The funding formulas are not likely to help us a great deal. As for reform, well we are going to have to wait for some unspecified reform in 2028. The sector does not have the luxury of that amount of time.”
The budget includes £11m to replenish the authority’s reserves, which were dipped into in 2022 and 2023 to help balance the most challenging budgets in KCC’s history.
Councils hold reserves to solve one-off issues, and using them to top up budgets or for day-to-day expenditure is not a long-term solution to the financial pressures KCC faces.
KCC has made, and will continue to find, significant savings and income amounting to £96m in order to balance the budget. This includes a continued focus on transforming services, changes in council policies, and some reductions in staff costs through not replacing some staff who leave, and reducing the dependency on agency staff.
The budget includes a 4.99% rise in council tax, with 2% of that ringfenced for social care. This means the County Council share of the bill for a Band D household will go up by £1.54 per week (£80.37 per year) which is in line with this year’s Government Council Tax referendum principles.
Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services, Peter Oakford, says by not adequately funding social care the Government is leaving local authorities with no other choice than to raise council tax for working people who are already struggling to pay the bills.
Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services Peter Oakford proposes the budget
He said: “What we need is a long-term financial settlement from Government, and a recognition that every single local authority in the country is struggling to meet the rising costs of providing social care. By choosing to give a better settlement to some councils, particularly those in metropolitan city areas, the Government has made the challenge of balancing the budget, particularly for social care budgets, even more difficult in county areas.
“We have been left with no choice here if we are to avoid bankruptcy but continue to provide the care that vulnerable people in Kent need. Until Government introduces radical reform in social care and gives councils the funding they need we will have to go on cutting other services that people value, and finding those savings year after year just gets harder and harder.
“Putting up council tax is not something I want to do. I know many residents are already up against it financially in these challenging times, but the only choice we have is to ensure that the income from Council Tax, in the absence of realistic funding from Government, meets the very challenging financial demands we are faced with.
“We have only managed to balance this budget by overhauling some of the services we provide and cutting some really great things that people value. Gone are the days of nice to haves. We have to spend what we have on looking after the most vulnerable people who need our help the most.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; until central Government finally sits up and recognises the increasing costs and pressures of adult social care and fully funds it, local government will have to continue to make unpalatable cuts until there is simply nothing left to cut.”
The budget proposals were accepted at a meeting of KCC’s full council today, with 41 Members voting for, 10 against and 7 abstaining.
An alternative budget was proposed by the Leader of the Labour Group, Alister Brady. The alternative budget was not carried.
A total of 6 amendments to the draft budget were put forward and debated. None of the amendments were carried.
Further information
A link to a recording of the budget meeting will be available at https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/committees-and-meetings/watch-council-meetings
For more on KCC’s budget, visit: https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/finance-and-budget/our-budget
