Social care budgets at Sheffield Council have been increased by £29m to ease pressure on the overstretched service.
The council have managed to maintain the budget at the expenditure given to social care in 2021/22, according to the authority’s new revenue budget report.
The council’s director of finance Ryan Keyworth told a co-operative executive meeting of council leaders: “Services have got to live within a cash standstill position from the end of this year to the end of next year.
“That is one heck of an ask.”
To allow for this increase in funding, council tax will increase for Sheffield residents by 2.99% in April. That is the maximum increase that doesn’t force a referendum.
The council report said staff are attempting to address ‘market failure’ that is causing care placements to be expensive.
Leisure and entertainment budgets are two of the areas that will be affected by this change in funding for social care.
In the revenue budget 2022/23 by Sheffield Council, they said they have had to balance the extra costs with the need to protect its social care services to its most vulnerable residents.
Since 2013/14, the council have put particular investment into social care.
This graph shows the Council’s investment in Social Care since 2013/14.
The need for social care has increased at a time where councils have been forced to rely on council tax as an income stream.
Sheffield has seen a 50 per cent reduction in Central Government funding since 2010.
A spokesman from Sheffield Council said: “The council has been left with little choice but to increase council tax.”
The social care funding pot includes £8.6m as part of the Local Government Settlement.
Sheffield Council was also awarded £7.7m of additional Adult Social Care funding and £0.8m of Improved Better Care Funding.
The People Portfolio have invested £29.7m of extra funding to cover the cost of pressures in the service.
This is a 16 per cent increase on what The People Portfolio gave in the 2021/22 budget.
The increase to social care budget will help a range of people in Sheffield including people in care homes, disabled people, lone parents and any care workers.
Mr Keyworth said: “We’ve managed to protect as much of the investment into social care that we’ve been able to.”