Above average elderly population sees council facing £17.5m adult care funding gap

Shropshire Council is facing a £17.5m funding gap for adult social care over a three year period with its leader admitting its ‘extreme financial difficulty’ is partly caused by a ‘disproportionate’ population of older people in the area.

Shropshire has a population ageing at a greater rate than the national average; the area is forecast to see its population of 80+ year-olds grow by 22 per cent compared to 17 per cent nationally between 2014 and 2020.

At a cabinet meeting, councilors discussed the £17.5m projected increase in the council’s cost of providing adult services from 2016/17 to 2018/19. Its total adult services budget for the current year is £72.4m with a forecast spend of £77.9m.

Leader of the council

Malcolm Pate, leader of Shropshire Council, said: “The cabinet are very concerned over the projected increase in adult social care. Councils are not funded by Government based on need, and so the disproportionate elderly population in Shropshire is causing us extreme financial difficulties.

"This is despite Shropshire being amongst the most efficient on cost and highest quality provider of adult social care in England.”

Increasingly complex needs

The council leader says the rising costs are also due to new people requiring funded support coming into the system at a greater rate and at greater cost than last year and that those accessing care have increasingly complex needs.

The issue of a population aging at a greater rate adds to the council’s insufficient funding from central Government and escalating costs. A council spokesman said: “The provider market is experiencing issues with cost inflation and capacity which is driving up the cost of individual packages.”

The council leader said: “Greg Clark MP has kindly agreed to visit Shropshire in the near future and based on my discussion with him, I am optimistic that he is open to understanding how a fair, financial settlement for local government needs to be struck based on need. Clearly the cost of adult social care is the most significant factor facing Shropshire and many other councils.”

When asked whether the funding gap will lead to a cut to adult social care costs, the council said in a statement: “The adult services budget and future years’ projections will be reviewed over the coming months. The projected level of growth is not sustainable for the council within its current resource projections. “Shropshire will continue to prioritise looking after vulnerable people in our community.”

In administration

Shropshire council’s funding gap, follows news this month that the firms which jointly run six care homes, four of which are in Shropshire, have gone into administration.

AlixPartners Services UK was appointed administrators of Claremont Care Ltd and Silver Leaf Estates LLP.

The care homes run by Claremont Care are:

Beaumaris Court Care Home, Newport, Shropshire.

Standford House, Newport, Shropshire.

The New Barn, Market Drayton, Shropshire.

Elmhurst Nursing Home, Prees, Whitchurch, Shropshire.

The Old Vicarage care home, Bradmore, Wolverhampton.

Elm House, Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent.

The administrators contacted Careport Advisory Services Ltd (Careport), a specialist in operational care support, to assist in overseeing daily residential care.

In a statement, a spokesman for AlixPartners Services UK said: “The joint administrators were appointed following the business experiencing cash flow difficulties and will be working closely with the Care Quality Commission and local authorities to ensure that care levels are maintained and residents’ interests protected. The joint administrators will continue to operate the care homes as normal while a buyer is sought.”

Ryan Grant at AlixPartners said:“Our focus is very much on securing a buyer for these high quality care homes and we welcome expressions of interest. In the meantime, together with Careport, we will continue to ensure that all residents experience the same high standard of care that they currently receive."