Spending wisely?

Is your local authority wasting money?

Kent Council has been criticised by care services minister Ivan Lewis for setting up an online TV station while at the same time increasing domiciliary care charges.

In a Westminster debate, Lewis said: “There is a local authority – I shall not name it as I do not wish to embarrass it – that is spending £300,000 on setting up a television station, while it has increased the fees for home care by £300,000.

“Let us be clear: some decisions being made at a local level about what matters to people need serious scrutiny in relation to local authority prioritisation.”

It later emerged that Lewis was referring to Kent Council, which launched Kent TV in September, an online, 24-hour service, broadcasting programmes on council-related topics. However deputy leader of the council Alex King told Community Care that there was “absolutely no connection” between the funding of domiciliary care charges and the setting up of Kent TV.

While Kent has been outed, it can’t be the only authority to invest in schemes while social care services are being cut.

We want to hear from you: email simeon.brody@rbi.co.uk with your experiences which can be attributed anonymously as to how councils are in your opinion investing unwisely.

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