Leader of Council writes to the Prime Minister

The Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council has written to The Prime Minister highlighting the growing demand for vital adult and children’s social care services and asking that the November budget will deliver against the commitment to enhance resources for social care.

Councillor Gittins said: “I would urge you to bring forward longer-term solutions to the challenges this country faces in funding our vital local services, resist cuts to council funding, and give us the tools to deliver.”

The full letter:

Dear Prime Minister,

Congratulations on your appointment. You take over as Prime Minister at a time of serious challenges within local government. As Leader of Cheshire West and Cheshire Council, I am writing to share with you how these challenges are affecting us on the front line. You will hear similar views from across local government, irrespective of either party or geography.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a well-run council, with a strong track record of efficiency and good financial management. We take an active and transformational approach to addressing poverty and climate change, and in delivering the high-quality local services our residents have the right to expect. But our duty to local people to deliver on their priorities and needs is becoming increasingly difficult as funding reduces, and demand grows. We face unprecedented inflationary pressures across all our services. In an average year our inflationary pressures are around £6 million. This year they are estimated to be around £21 million, rising to around £40 million in the years ahead.

As with other councils, demand for our vital adult and children’s social care services continues to grow, and we will be forced into significant reductions to other council services in order to meet these pressures. Local government still doesn’t have the confidence that the national reforms to social care will be fully funded. They are clearly inadequate to address the underlying demands of our social care system and meet our moral obligations to vulnerable adults and children, and to the staff who care for them.

As you know, while central government is able to borrow to meet emergency needs and deliver your own priorities, as you are doing through your growth plan, local government is required by law to balance its books annually. This means my council faces an overall funding gap of over £100 million over the next four years.

We welcomed the commitment you made in you party’s leadership election to enhance resources for social care and hope the budget on 23rd November will make a decisive step in delivering this commitment. It has therefore been concerning to hear ministers floating radical cuts in public investment and using derogatory phrases like “trimming the fat” or accusing people concerned about public services as living in a “fool’s paradise”, rather than acknowledging the needs of our communities at this very difficult time.

The government was previously committed to a multi-year Spending Review this year – a commitment which seems to have been reneged upon. I would nevertheless urge you to bring forward longer-term solutions to the challenges this country faces in funding our vital local services, resist cuts to council funding, and give us the tools to deliver.

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and to our local MPs.

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader - Cheshire West and Chester Council.