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North Somerset Council’s executive member for adult social care has backed a national campaign calling for a cross-party agreement to end the national social care funding shortfall.

Cllr Mike Bell has backed the petition launched by Somerset County Council on the official Parliament website. Gaining 10,000 signatures triggers a formal response from the Government while 100,000 would mean it is formally considered for a debate.

Care of the most vulnerable people in the community has suffered from years of under-funding, and councils across the country are facing increasingly difficult challenges in meeting care needs.

Cllr Mike Bell, North Somerset Council’s executive member for adult social care, said: “In North Somerset we have a growing older community and greater financial pressures to meet their needs. This will only increase in the future. We need Government action to deliver sustainable long-term investment in adult social care.

“The Local Government Association estimates that by 2025 the national adult social care funding gap will be around £3.5billion.

“Here in North Somerset 41 per cent of our budget is spent on adult social care – that’s £65.8 million on our adult social care services supporting around 3,500 residents with long-term care and more than 650 with short-term care.

“I’d urge local residents to join me in signing this petition and help keep the need to protect our local services at the top of the national agenda.”

The petition can be found at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/266020

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