Issued: 25 February 2010
Social Work & Health Making Savings Work
Angus Council's Social Work & Health convener Alison Andrews has said the savings applied in the recent budget were reasonable given the tight financial position of the council.
“Just like every council department, Social Work & Health has to find more efficient ways of working. We need to put the money where it works best, for the people who need it most,” said councillor Andrews.
“This year we were fortunate in that along with Education our overall departmental budget has actually increased – rising from £61.3 m in 2009/10 to £62.5m for 2010/11.
“This has allowed us to invest an additional £450,000 into older people's services and £300,000 into our foster carers' service in this coming financial year.”
Commenting on the new charges for blue badges and community meals the convener said they were necessary to balance the overall social work and health budget.
“Up to now we have been fortunate that the council was in a relatively strong financial position and we could avoid blue badge charges and other increases.
“However we are now facing much more difficult financial times for local government so in Angus we have no choice but to follow other councils and apply this range of charges.
“The £20 charge for a blue badge for three years is in line with Scottish Government guidance and with what other authorities charge. We have chosen to apply a very reasonable charge which works out at less than seven pounds a year. This will help offset the administrative cost of the running the scheme.”
Councillor Andrews said the 50p increase in the price of a community meal better reflected the actual cost of providing it: “No increase was applied last year but we couldn't maintain a price freeze this year. At £2.50 it's still excellent value for money –most people would find it difficult to cook a two-course meal for £2.50, considering the price of ingredients and fuel. Similarly the increase in the charge for the community alarm service, from £1 to £2 a week, is less than that charged elsewhere in Scotland and is a flat rate regardless of how often individuals need to use the service.”