Vast majority of council's £149.1m budget allocated to vulnerable adults and children

Eighty per cent of Swindon Borough Council’s budget for the coming financial year will be spent caring for vulnerable adults and children.

At a recent meeting of the Full Council, the authority agreed the budget for the 2020/21 financial year, with the net budget being set at £149.1m.

Of this, the council will spend around £120m – 80 per cent – on providing life-changing services to those people in Swindon who are most in need.

Caring for vulnerable adults and children is the council’s single most important priority, the results of which can be seen in the positive effects these services have on individuals.

Last year, for example, 988 adults were given daily help to live independently and comfortably at home; 1,600 people were supported to return home from hospital; 888 residential or nursing care placements were provided for adults who could no longer live by themselves; and more than 2,100 children and young people were supported with an Education, Health and Care Plan for their special education needs.

Without these vital safeguarding services, many people would not be able to live their lives independently in a supportive environment.

Only a relatively small proportion of people need these services but they are incredibly important for those who depend on them.

Councillor Russell Holland, Swindon Borough Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member responsible for Finance, said: “As a Council we do prioritise our spending on those most in need. This is in accordance with our legal duties but it is also a moral issue because as a society we all need to play our part in helping the vulnerable.

“The reality is that as more people live for longer with more complex health conditions, there is going to be an ongoing significant increase in demand for those services.

“This does mean that we need to make decisions about what other services we provide and how we provide them. We have successfully maintained libraries and leisure services for residents but we have changed how we provide them.

“It also means that we’ll be asking people to make slightly higher council tax contributions – but these are necessary to ensure that vulnerable adults and children are properly cared for.”

As well as funding these vital services, council tax also helps the Council deliver more than 100 other services – from waste collection to looking after stray dogs – to residents right across the borough.

Last year, council tax contributions also helped bring more than £133m of external funding to Swindon. The Council has received significant sums of investment for heritage preservation and highways improvements projects, and a bid was recently submitted for £25m to redevelop Fleming Way.