Agenda item

(i)                 Adult and Social Care Funding

The motion was proposed by Councillor Stuchbury and seconded by Councillor Wilson

“In anticipation of a steadily ageing population (an increase of nearly 18,000 65s+ by 2030, +17% versus 2021 in Buckinghamshire according to ONS) and the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this Council agrees that the Adult & Social Care Precept, linked to a Council Tax cap, is an unsustainable mechanism for funding adult and social care in the mid and long-term.

The Council calls on the Leader to send a cross-party letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Health & Social Care urging the Government to address this critical matter in its forthcoming spending review with the relevant plans and legislation put in place to enable local government to support our elderly and most vulnerable appropriately.”

An amendment to the motion (additional wording, in BOLD) was proposed by Councillor A Macpherson and was seconded by Councillor C Jackson.  This read as follows:

“In anticipation of a steadily ageing population (an increase of nearly 18,000 65s+ by 2030, +17% versus 2021 in Buckinghamshire according to ONS) and the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Council agrees that the Adult and Social Care Precept, linked to a Council Tax cap, is an unsustainable mechanism for funding adult and social care in the mid to long term.

The Council acknowledges the Government’s recent announcement on social care funding and calls on the Leader to send a cross-party letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care to urging the Government to address this critical matter in its forthcoming spending review with the relevant plans and legislation put in place:

1.                  Welcome the Government’s announcement as an important first step towards putting social care funding on a sustainable footing and to improve the quality and availability of social care services.

2.                  Welcome the Government’s commitment to work with local authorities, social care users and other stakeholders to develop a new social care white paper supported by sufficient long term investment.

3.                  Set out our concerns regarding the severe financial pressures on local government in the short to medium term and the need for funding to alleviate these pressures in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to enable local government to support our elderly and most vulnerable appropriately.”

Councillor A Macpherson stated that the amendment took into account the recent announcement and publication by the Government on 7 September 2021 of the ‘Build Back Better’ report, that was a welcome starting point to look at health and social care reforms.  Members were also informed of the many pressures impacting on the sustainability of adult social care funding including, demography, an ageing population, complexity of need, the increase in resident need for care by the Council, and caring for residents with physical and learning difficulties.

Councillor Jackson urged Members to support the amendment stating that it was right that the motion text be updated following a major announcement by central Government.

Following debate of the amendment, the proposer and seconder of the original motion stated that they would be happy to accept the amendment.

The amendment was then put to the meeting and was CARRIED. The amendment, as the substantive motion, was then also put to the meeting and was CARRIED.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the Government’s recent announcement on social care funding be acknowledged.

(2)               That the Leader of the Council would send a cross-party letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care to:

(i)                  Welcome the Government’s announcement as an important first step towards putting social care funding on a sustainable footing and to improve the quality and availability of social care services.

(ii)                Welcome the Government’s commitment to work with local authorities, social care users and other stakeholders to develop a new social care white paper supported by sufficient long term investment.

(iii)              Set out concerns regarding the severe financial pressures on local government in the short to medium term and the need for funding to alleviate these pressures in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to enable local government to support our elderly and most vulnerable appropriately.

(ii)               Climate Risk

A Notice of Motion entitled ‘Climate Risk’ had been published with the agenda, as follows:

Proposer: Councillor Ed Gemmell

Seconder: Councillor Greg Smith

"The Council notes that the effects from Climate Change are widespread, rapid and intensifying and are affecting all areas of the Earth in multiple ways as stated by representatives of the IPCC on 9 August 2021.

These rapid and intensifying effects are already affecting the UK and Buckinghamshire in multiple ways which will only get worse as the global temperature rapidly approaches, and likely surpasses, 1.5 degrees in the early 2030s.

In recognition of the risks associated with such effects the Council proposes that all risk registers for the council, all departments within the council and in all associated bodies over which the council has influence should be updated to include “climate risk” or “risk from climate change”."

Prior to it’s introduction and any discussion of the motion, a Motion without Notice  was moved by Councillor Chilver, and duly seconded by Councillor Newcombe, that the motion, as it stood, be referred to the Audit and Governance Committee as the appropriate Committee of the Council that dealt with risk registers.

A requisite number of Members present requested that a recorded vote be held on referring the motion. Following a recorded vote on it, it was declared to be CARRIED. 

Voting was as follows:-

FOR: Councillors A Alam, R Bagge, D Barnes, S Barrett, J Baum, S Bowles, M Bracken, P Brazier, S Broadbent, N Brown, T Butcher, M Caffrey, R Carington, D Carroll, B Chapple OBE, S Chapple, Q Chaudry, J Chilver, M Collins, C Cornell, A Cranmer, I Darby, D Dhillon, M Dormer, M Flys, R Gaster, P Gomm, D Goss, G Hall, C Harriss, T Hogg, A Hussain, Mahboob Hussain JP, C Jackson, J Jordan, P Kelly, D King, A Macpherson, F Mahon, W Matthews, Z Mohammed, N Naylor, R Newcombe, C Oliver, A Osibogun, S Raja, M Rand, S Rouse, G Sandy, L Smith BEM, P Strachan, D Summers, L Sullivan, M Tett, N Thomas, D Thompson, D Town, A Turner, M Turner, M Walsh, J Ward, D Watson, G Williams, M Winn and K Wood.

AGAINST: Councillors P Cooper, T Dixon, P Drayton, M Fayyaz, E Gemmell, P Griffin, I Hussain, Majid Hussain, S Kayani, M Knight, S Lambert, S Morgan, N Rana, G Smith, M Smith, R Stuchbury, J Wassell, A Wheelhouse and S Wilson.

ABSTENTIONS: There were none.

RESOLVED –

That the Notice of Motion ‘Climate Risk’ as submitted to the Council meeting be referred for consideration by the Audit and Governance Committee, as the appropriate Committee of the Council that dealt with risk registers.