CARE FOR ELDERLY SECOND AFTER EDUCATION IN COST

South Wales Evening Post - 1 March 2007

The cost of looking after older people in Swansea is the biggest single drain on council resources after schools.

This year the council will spend almost £30 million on services to care for older people in the city. It represents a huge slice of the council's £350 million budget.

With £150 million of that going on education and schools it means spending on older people in the county accounts for almost 15 per cent of the remainder of the budget.

It is a growing problem for councils across the country as people are living longer.

Cabinet member for social services Councillor Wendy Fitzgerald, said: "Adult services elsewhere in Wales and England are having huge problems, with many councils facing large shortfalls. In Swansea we have managed to keep a lid on spending."

The number of elderly people has risen dramatically in the past 50 years. Figures show a five-fold increase in people aged over 85. More than a fifth of Swansea's population are officially pensioners.

Councillor Fitzgerald said: "In Swansea, we know our population is getting older and we will need to find better ways of looking after older people. There is a need to improve the way we deliver service to older people, and that includes looking at pooling resources with other organisations."

The total bill for social services for next year is £82 million, £35 million is spent on the environment, including street cleaning and rubbish collection. More than £18 million is spent on culture, recreation and tourism, and another £16 million is spent by the Top- performance and eGovernment department.

Elsewhere the council has set aside around £380 million for large-scale projects.

This includes £2.4 million on city centre redevelopment, £8.6 million on the civic centre conversion at County Hall and around £10 million on improvements to schools and special education services in the county.

Council house improvements will cost £7 million, £3.5 million has been set aside for improvements to the Guildhall which has a total repair bill of around £30 million. Brynmill Park will get a £1.3 million makeover, and £20 million will be used to complete refurbishments to Swansea Leisure Centre.

It all adds up to a 3.5 percent increase on council tax bills. The average across Wales has been estimated at 4.7 per cent.

Council Leader Chris Holley said: "Big capital projects are decisions made a couple of years ago. Once they have been agreed we know it needs to be paid for, and the cost is worked into future budgets.

"The biggest shock, and something that is very hard to absorb, has been the state of the Guildhall. An unexpected repair bill of around £30 million for one of the most iconic buildings in Wales then that is very difficult to cope with."