The council leader has hit back at Care England after claims that the borough’s increase in adult social care funding was ‘inadequate.’ 

Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) recently announced a three per cent rise but Care England, a representative body for independent providers of adult social care, said “more is required” to support local care providers. 

Chief Executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green, said: “Vulnerable people will be at serious risk if we do not give a significant increase in funding for social care services.

READ MORE: Bracknell Conservative councillors clash over MPs ‘partygate’ response

“The current inadequate funding from WBC will only seek to undermine the efforts of adult social care providers in providing quality care to those that require their services.” 

But the council leader says this “isn’t fair” and claims Prof. Green is “targeting the wrong people.” 

Councillor Clive Jones said: “They have got their target totally wrong. It is the government that they should be targeting, not WBC. 

“We absolutely agree with him that vulnerable people are at risk and that services are chronically underfund but it isn’t something that the council can sort out because for every one per cent extra that we give to care providers in the borough it costs the council £550,000.” 

READ MORE: Carnival Hub Leisure Centre on course to open this summer

The council’s budget for 2022/23 is £144,654,880 – 83 per cent of which comes from council taxes and the remaining 17 per cent from government funding and business rate retention. 

Of the total budget, 39 per cent is allocated for adult social care and wellbeing – around £56,415,403. 

Prof Green claims it is not enough and will “leave some services unable to continue.” 

“With inflation running at over ten per cent and the dedicated staff in adult social care having a cost-of-living crisis, care providers need to be properly funded in order to continue to deliver essential care,” he said. 

The rate of inflation rose by 9 per cent in April, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), reaching a 40-year high and wreaking havoc on budgets. 

READ MORE: Dinton Park’s open-air cinema returning this summer

Cllr Jones claims local councils can’t afford to increase finance without cutting funds from other essential services and Prof Green should be “concentrating his fire on central government.” 

“He is asking for ten per cent, he is asking for £5.5m. That alone is a five percent increase in council tax, just to cover what he is asking for,” responded Cllr Jones. 

“He knows that we can’t do [that]. Wokingham is already paying some of the highest rates to adult social care providers in the country. 

“We agree with him that three per cent is not enough, but we can’t do anymore. My advice to him is to go and get it off the government for all the councils in England.”