08 December 2006
Services for older people are 'teetering on the brink', Local Government Association chair Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart was due to tell the House of Lords on December 7.
The Lords debate had been called by Bruce-Lockhart to discuss a motion calling for the government to alleviate the financial pressures experienced in adult social care.
The debate followed publication of the figures revealing the scale of the problem.
A survey of English local authorities, undertaken by the Association of Directors of Social Services, the Local Government Association and the Society of County Treasurers, found that budgets for services for adults with physical and sensory disabilities were overspent by 4.08% in 2005/06.
Learning disability services were overspent by 3.25% while mental health services were overspent by 1.21%.
The survey also showed a marked increase in the number of councils reporting 'significant cost pressures' due to an increase in demand and need for their services.
The ADSS contends that 'efficiency alone will not meet the costs of rising demand'.
PFdec2006
