Liberal Democrats condemn cuts to vulnerable Suffolk people

6.00.00pm GMT Wed 26th Nov 2008

Liberal Democrats at Suffolk County Council have today condemned Conservative plans for millions of pounds of cuts to services for vulnerable adults and children.

Group Leader Kathy Pollard commented "The Conservatives have already cut £35 million from the budget for vulnerable and elderly adults in the last 3 years. They are now proposing to cut a further £7m. The service was downgraded this year from 3 to 2 stars by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. We wait to see what effect these additional cuts will have."

"We are also worried about the proposed £1m cut to the budget for Children and Young People, which is already overspent by £1.3m this year. We will be asking questions particularly about the vacancy rate and caseload for Social Workers in this area. I don't understand how the Conservatives can say that they're protecting vulnerable people, when they are clearly making huge cuts to their services. In the list of risks for the Adult Care service, contained in the papers on page 113, it states that "Savings plans have yet to be worked up in detail and may not be deliverable." It is also clear that the public are not happy with increased service charges."

Mrs. Pollard added, "Every council employee needs to be tasked with making savings. Staff still travel 20 million miles a year on council business. That figure has not reduced, even though this was a Conservative manifesto commitment. Smart meters would also highlight how energy is being used in premises. With a 50% rise in costs for electricity and gas this year alone, it's also vital that the council allocates capital funds to insulate its many properties which would obviously reduce energy costs in the future."