Letter to Editor: Hackney Adult Social Care Budget

Letter to Editor from Jennette Arnold OBE AM about Hackney Council being forced to reduce spending within its Adult Social Care budget for 2018-19.

Dear Editor,

It is very concerning that Hackney Council has been forced to reduce spending within its Adult Social Care budget for 2018-19 by £2.3 million.

Housing Related Support (HRS), which is set to suffer the brunt of the funding squeeze, is a vital lifeline for the some of most vulnerable members of our community. It provides adults with disabilities and long-term illnesses with integral personal and domestic care, helping them to live as independently as possible within the community.



It goes without saying that this decision will not have been taken lightly by the council, who continue to be placed under insurmountable pressures by deep and sustained government cuts.



We have witnessed the pernicious consequences of austerity across the capital, and the rest of the country, with the poorest and most vulnerable in our society hit the hardest.



It has been clear for a long time, that the government must urgently invest in local authorities to reverse the damage that has been wrought, and seek a sustainable solution to the burgeoning Adult Social Care Funding crisis.



Yours sincerely,

Jennette Arnold OBE, AM