St Helens council tax rise agreed 'in principle' for 2020-2021

The council’s latest budget report says the proposed increase will generate an extra £3 million for the authority and help avoid further service cuts.

The proposed rise comprises of a 1.99 per cent council tax increase and a 2 per cent adult social care precept.

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On Wednesday, Labour councillors agreed to the proposed rise in principle,  subject to public and other stakeholder consultation.

Cllr Martin Bond, cabinet member for finance, said the cost and demand of services that protect the most vulnerable continue to rise while the resources available to local authorities shrinks.

The Labour councillor said that, faced with increasing demand, central government has shifted the burden on council-tax payers to “mitigate the harmful effects of its policies.”

He said the proposal for an additional 2 per cent for adult social care is there to directly protect a growing vulnerable section of our fellow residents.

“The high level of expertise, significant care and the cost of these critical services is by far the biggest spend on the budget,” Cllr Bond said.

“As I have said, demand and cost is rising. The budget doesn’t rise commensurately.

“So, while the Prime Minister fudges and prevaricates and blusters about the solution, people are still falling ill in St Helens.”

Cllr Marlene Quinn, cabinet member for adult social care, said the hike was “necessary”.

Cllr Marlene Quinn, St Helens Council cabinet member for adult social care

Cllr Quinn described the current situation as “depressing”, though praised the integration work that has been going on the borough over the last few years.

The Labour councillor said the two biggest pressure areas are domiciliary care and support for people with learning disabilities.

She said last year there has been a 56,000-hour increase in domiciliary care, with the council commissioning more than 100,000 hours.

Cllr Quinn said, at the last time of checking, the council was supporting 898 people with learning disabilities, with a third of them in supported living.

She said young people are also transitioning from children’s services into adults services with “far more complex needs than we’ve ever witnessed”.

Cllr Quinn said demand on elderly support services is also growing, with 184 elderly residents in residential care and 213 in EMI (elderly mentally infirm) care.

With costs continuing to rise, Cllr Quinn warned that adults services are already operating at statutory levels and cannot sustain further cuts.

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Cllr Quinn said: “This area, adults, can’t cut any more. We cannot cut any more. We are at statutory level and it’s not very nice.

“All the home service meals, all the luxuries we used to be able to do. Not luxuries, what we thought you would want for your mother, your father your grandparents – they’ve all gone.

“And it’s just not acceptable now that we are having to find more and more.

“If we get any more cuts, I just don’t know what we would do.”