Council leader welcomes additional funding for adult social care sector
Poster information
Posted on: Friday 14 August 2020
Bridgend County Borough Council leader Huw David has welcomed additional funding from Welsh Government for adult social care providers to help meet the rising costs of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, Health and Social Services Minister Vaughan Gething announced £22.7 million in extra funding for the sector, saying it was to help maintain the provision and help providers maintain their ability to operate.
It follows an initial £40 million provided by the Welsh Government at the start of the pandemic to help providers pay for rising costs in areas such as staffing, infection control, food prices and greater use of technology, enabling families to keep in touch with their loved ones when they were unable to visit.
The critical role social care has played during the Covid-19 crisis has raised the profile and value of social care in its own right.
Social care services have risen to the unprecedented challenges caused by Covid-19, helping keep those who use these services safe and well during this crisis. This welcome announcement of additional funding for adult social care will assist in helping ensure social care providers can maintain their vital care amid ongoing challenging circumstances, including financial challenges.
Social care services were already under huge strain and facing severe cost pressures and increasing demand even before the pandemic but the pandemic has exacerbated some of the serious long-term funding pressures facing social care. We continue to call for a sustainable funding settlement for social care, which has been sorely needed for a long time and we continue to discuss with Welsh Government on how this can be achieved.
Councillor David who is also the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesman for health and social care
The funding will be made available immediately and continue until the end of September after which the situation will be reviewed again.
Bridgend County Borough Council has already contacted eligible providers, and has developed a mechanism to make the relevant payments in a timely way.
Mr Gething said: “The social care workforce is on the front line of this huge effort to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and we are committed to supporting every single person do their job.
“Every one of us in Wales owes them a debt of gratitude. I want to personally thank our social care workforce for their fantastic efforts in protecting the public.”