Council Could Save Money Helping People in Need of Care at Early Stage

HELPING people in need of care at an early stage should save Swansea Council money but wouldn’t result in anyone being turned away if they required more comprehensive support, a director said.

The council’s social services department provides a range of support for elderly people, disabled people, and children and families.

It’s a statutory and costly service, and a continuing focus will be on prevention, support and early intervention, councillors on a scrutiny panel were told.

The department has benefited from additional funding in recent years but faces growing demand, linked to an ageing population, among other things, and significant inflationary costs. This means budget savings have to be made.

Councillors were presented with departmental plans to save £8.7 million in 2025-26 and wanted to know how they would affect those receiving care. Would someone who had three domiciliary care visits a day only get two, asked Cllr Chris Holley, or would someone’s respite care reduce from a week to two or three days. “How is this going to affect the public?” he asked.

David Howes, social services director, said the council’s ongoing focus on prevention and early intervention – its “target operating model” – would reduce the need for more managed care if successful.

He said: “It does mean that going forward we will be delivering less care than otherwise we would have if we had not adopted this target operating model, and the financial bet is that these target operating models are a more cost-effective model of support than just having ever-increasing amounts of recourse to care.”

He added: “The bet is really important for us in terms of getting things right for the population, really important for us in terms for financial sustainability.” If it did not work, he said, “significant overspends” would continue.

The good news is that social services is in line for a £25 million-plus budget increase in 2025-26, but Mr Howes said the service pressures were at least £33 million – hence the need for the savings.

And he stressed the council would abide by its statutory responsibilities. “If somebody knocked on our front door and required a particular level of care, we have to provide it,” he said.

Cllr Louise Gibbard, cabinet member for care services, said prevention and early intervention work had started and was achieving what it set out to do.

“We are not saying that people with three (domiciliary care) calls a day will now have two,” she said.

Cllr Jeff Jones said he was concerned that caring pressures were being placed on family members, while Cllr Susan Jones said she was worried that external care providers used by councils might leave the market when rises in national insurance employer contributions came into force from April.

The council’s social services budget is expected to be £196 million in 2025-26 – up from £170.6 million currently – with a further £62 million coming from fees and charges and Welsh Government grants.