Vulnerable children & older people to get extra £2.9 million under Lib Dems (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Vulnerable children & older people to get extra £2.9 million under Lib Dems

February 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Islington's most vulnerable children and older people will be benefiting from an extra £2.9 million under plans proposed by Lib Dem Islington Council for next year's budget. The extra money will be going towards: Providing more social workers for vulnerable children Extending the Freedom Pass to help even more people including men between 60 and 65, and blind people Allowing more older people to stay in their homes longer through more aids and adaptations Making sure people don't stay in hospital longer than they need to by investing in interim care package Providing care for more people with learning disabilities In addition to this, an extra £5.4 million of capital expenditure will be spent on improvements to support vulnerable people, such as helping disabled people to continue living in their own homes by putting in specialist equipment and upgrading and refurbishing to day centres. The Lib Dems' plans means that much-needed cash will reach Islington residents most in need while keeping their promise to keep council tax below the London average. This comes on top the extra £3.4 million that was ploughed into frontline social services last year. Councillor Meral Ece, Executive Member for Health and Social Care said: "Our plans will help some of Islington's most vulnerable people including children and older people, ensuring they receive the support they need. "Social services spending under Labour was in chaos and they slashed its budget year on year. Under the Lib Dems social services has been steadily improving in Islington and we are starting to make a real difference. We believe that it is right to continue this improvement we have to invest these extra resources." "But rest assured - this won't mean a return to the old days under Labour when Islington had the highest council tax in London. By making careful savings and targeting our investment, we're putting the money where it's really needed and keeping our promise to keep council tax below the London average." Facts: The £5.4 million capital expenditure for vulnerable people includes: £1.8 million on adaptations for the disabled £1 million on DDA access to buildings £1.4 million on social services including improvements to day centres and the Highbury Resource Centre £1.2 million Disabled Facilities Grant The Government review of social services for this year states that: The care for adults has ëpromising prospectsí for improvement They recorded 29 improvements in services since the review in 2001/02 as well as 24 improvements in capacity to improve It quotes that: ìElected Members (councillors) have a good awareness of childrenís services and are committed to improving performanceî ìThere is good performance in helping adults with mental health problems, older people and adults with physical disabilities live at homeî ìThe national agenda for older people and mental health users has been actively promoted. Very significant changes have been made to service provision which is likely to promote better outcomesî The council now has no children without an allocated social worker and we have appointed 24 new social workers to deal with vulnerable children in light of the Laming report on the death of Victoria Climbie.