Brighton sets £6m social care fund in new Budget

Brighton & Hove City Council has announced a 5.99 per cent council tax increase in its budget, to help invest an extra £6 million for its adult social care services.

Alongside that funding, the council will also spend an extra £3 million for children’s social care services to support increasing demands and costs of caring for children in care, as well as money allocated to support rough sleepers and to tackle criminal exploitation of young people and vulnerable adults.

The budget agreed by councillors also includes a focus on building much needed new homes on council-owned land through the New Homes for Neighbourhoods council house building programme and the affordable housing joint venture. It also will protect 19 of the council’s subsidised bus routes, parking charges and libraries, of which none will close.

As a result of the council tax increase, the average Band D bill will rise by £87.57 to £1,549.07 in 2018/19.

Warren Morgan, leader of the council, said: “On the back of two years where we have had to save in excess of £40 million, we’ve worked hard to identify a further £12 million savings in this Budget, a task that becomes harder with each year that passes.

“Critical to the success of this city, vital to our public services, essential for business and so important to the health and well-being of our residents is the availability of good quality and truly affordable housing. It is perhaps the biggest challenge we face. We’re building 500 council homes. We will be delivering a thousand more at truly affordable rents and we’re buying back council homes.

“Our budget protects the most vulnerable in our city. More than £9 million has been agreed in pressure funding to cover the increasing demands and costs for adult social care, people with learning disabilities, and children’s social care placements.”