Social care ‘not a rescue service’

The government is at risk of marginalising social care and seeing
it as a “rescue service” rather than a means to ensure the overall
well-being of communities.

Chairperson of the Local Government Association’s social affairs
and health executive Alison King said that local authorities had a
duty to promote social, economic and environmental well-being and
that local authorities should locate social care performance in the
context of this duty.

“It would be a tragedy if this vision were allowed to be damaged
irremediably by a narrow government interpretation of social care
as some sort of rescue service on the margins of the NHS or
education,” she said.

King went on to criticise the recent comments from ministers about
local authorities’ decisions to raise council taxes by double digit
percentages.

She called for “a closer, continuing dialogue” with government
about the way money was allocated to councils and their abilities
to raise more funds locally for locally agreed priorities.

Without increased government investment, the ability of local
authorities to make improvements would be “severely compromised”,
she warned.