Director explains 'double whammy' which led to financial meltdown at Dudley Council
More details have emerged about a rise in social care costs which pushed Dudley Council to the brink of bankruptcy.
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In the autumn of 2023 the authority was hit with an unexpected bill of around £10 million for adult and children’s care.
The extra spending caused shockwaves which left the council’s chief finance officer warning that it may be necessary to issue a section 114 order – in effect saying there was no more money to cover costs.
At a meeting of the council’s Adult Social Care Select Committee on Wednesday, Matt Bowsher, director of adult social care, told councillors finances had suffered a double whammy.
Mr Bowsher said: “Spending was linked directly to the emergence of the [coronavirus] pandemic.
“There were issues with Covid in nursing homes which saw decreasing numbers of people going into care and support.
“After the world reopened the opposite happened, all of that came last year and along with inflation – it was a bit of a double whammy.”
The committee heard the authority supported an extra 532 adults it had not planned for which had pushed spending up.
The committee also discussed a report from the Local Government Association (LGA) which concluded Dudley’s spending on Adult Social Care was similar to the national average and had been for some time.
LGA investigators found Dudley spends 14 per cent less than the national average on older people despite supporting more than average in long term care.
Mr Bowsher explained the council has a number of services that other authorities do not have which aim to help elderly people continue to live in the community for as long as possible.
He said: “Take those services away and the number of people in care goes up and spending goes up.
“Our preventative services play a vital role to make sure we support our elderly people.”
The report also found Dudley spends 23 per cent less than average on elderly people in care homes which it says may be due to low fees that are unsustainable in the longer term.
The LGA added: ” Several other West Midlands authorities may be in a similar situation.”