A government minister has pledged to visit North
Somerset after talking with Leader of Council, Nigel Ashton at a
special meeting in London last Wednesday (19 October).
The meeting was arranged after Cllr Ashton was elected in August
as Chairman of the South West England Adult Care Services (SWEACS)
Board, which consists of lead members for adult social
services for every top-tier council in the South West.
At that time he said that all members of the board agreed that
they were not interested in a talking shop but wanted to work
together to provide a specific, documented case for the government
minister about the need for immediate and practical solutions.
Speaking today Cllr Ashton said: "Together with other members
of SWEACS, we had the opportunity to put forward that
documented case at yesterday's meeting with the minister, Paul
Burstow [Minister of State for the Department of Health].
"We were able to present him with not only the particular issues
and pressures we face as a region in providing adult social
services, but also it was an opportunity to highlight the positive
work councils are already engaged in, developing innovative ways of
delivering services."
Cllr Ashton added that the South West faces a 'perfect storm' in
relation to adult social services. "The South West has the largest
proportion of elderly people in England; people here also live
longer; and the South West has the greatest prevalence of people
with moderate or serious personal care disabilities. Couple this
with the fact that the region is the most sparsely populated, and
is one of the least accessible regions in England increasing the
chances of social isolation, means there are some unique challenges
for us.
"The meeting was very positive, the minister agreed to look at
the issues we were raising and pledged to come and visit us on a
date to be arranged.
"This was a good outcome and as a group we will continue our
dialogue with the minister about how services are delivered under
the increasing cost pressures we face."
