Rising adult social care costs prompts council tax rise

Members attended Hereford Shirehall for a heated three-hour debate where they were told by the ruling Conservative Party that the authority must protect its most vulnerable residents.

But the proposals met with objection from opposition group leaders, with one party launching two unsuccessful bids to amend the proposal.

In the end a majority of the county's 53 members backed the plans which will see two per cent of the rise - £1.7m - go towards the rising costs of adult social care.

In delivering the proposal, Cllr Patricia Morgan, the council's deputy leader, said despite saving £59m since 2010, more still needed to be done by the council.

"We should be under no illusions that these challenges to make savings will continue in the future," she said.

"We need to protect our most vulnerable residents.

"This additional funding is supported by the government, which has acknowledged that current adult social care funding is insufficient to meet demand.”

But despite being backed, opposition leaders highlighted flaws in the Conservative group's plans.

"Any budget is about making choices," said Cllr Anthony Powers, the It's Our County leader. "This administration continues to make poor choices.

"It's another eyes down budget from an eyes down administration."

He said his party would have kept the county farms estate in public ownership and invested in the local economy, "not the stock market".

Cllr Bob Matthews, for the Independent group, called it a "highly risky" budget with many things that could go wrong.

"Irresponsible borrowing and excessive debt is what brought this country to near bankruptcy a few short years ago, and if we are not careful we might well experience a similar situation within this authority," he warned.

Members were told by Lib Dem leader Cllr Terry James that central government is to blame for the situation the authority finds itself in.

"For the hard-working people of this county, it is going to be a burden on them, but the blame should be aimed at central government," he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Jenny Bartlett, on behalf of the Greens, asked how Hereford can be considered a serious contender for the UK City of Culture crown in 2021 when it "does not support cultural services".

IOC had earlier claimed foul play after suggesting an amendment was submitted after the deadline.

The amendment asked members to approve a £60,000 removal from the energy budget to support "library, museum and heritage services".

The idea, which was carried, also prompted opposition members to accuse the Conservatives of twisting a similar amendment which had already been submitted by IOC asking for the same amount of money, from the same pot, be transferred to support cultural services. This was defeated, as was another from IOC which asked for £200k in one-off funding towards Hereford relief road costs be removed and used to fund SHYPP (Supported Housing and Young Persons Project) instead.

Herefordshire Council is currently consulting with SHYPP about possible cuts of 66 per cent, although Cllr Tony Johnson, the council leader, told the meeting these talks have been "very positive".