Cambridgeshire plans £3.8m cuts in adult care

Cambridgeshire Council could be set to cut its budget for adult social care by £3.8m.

A decision on the plan will be taken on 26 January by Cambridgeshire Council’s cabinet. It comes in response to a projected overspend of £4.9m on a £99.7m pooled health and social care budget for older people’s services with primary care trust NHS Cambridgeshire.

The pressure areas identified within the pooled budget are staffing, residential and nursing care, and domiciliary care including direct payments. The council is liable for £3.3m of the overspend, and the PCT £1.6m.

A report prepared for councillors shows that the council expects to manage the cuts by maximising the use of reablement measures to help service users maintain independence and reduce the size of social care packages.

It also plans to make efficiencies through contracting out services to independent providers, staff restructures and reviewing residential services and making greater use of supported living arrangements.

The PCT plans to reduce spending by £1.5m a year.

The news, which comes during the local government budget-setting season, follows plans from York Council to increase care charges and make cuts to combat a projected £1.1m overspend in adult care.

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