£4million slashed from adult social care- we look at Southampton's new budget

£4million slashed from adult social care, the closure of a care home and an increase of nearly 3% in council tax. Just some of the measures approved by Southampton City Council as it to sign off it's budget.

The Council Leader says austerity is getting worse and decisions were not taken lightly.

However it comes on top of £136million of savings in the last 7 years.

This isn't an isolated case though. Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset County Councils have all raised council tax for the next year.

Watch this report by Richard Slee who has been in Southampton getting reaction:

Closing the Glen Lee care home in Bitterne will save the council about £1mil a year, plus the money that would soon need to be spent on improvements.

All the residents and staff will transfer to the nearby Holcroft House in Thornhill which will stay open.

That's a relief for the families of residents like 73 year old Gillian Smith - who suffers from dementia and has lived at Holcroft for the past three years.

Ali Hedley, relative of care home resident:

The union that represents most of the care home workers says it's pleased that one of the homes has been saved with no job losses.

Mark Wood, Unite the Union:

Over the past 7 years, the council says that due to cuts in government funding its had to make savings of more than £136 million, and it says over the next 2 years it has to identify a further £11 million worths of savings-that's why its increased council tax by 3%.

The cost to a Band D homeowner will be an extra £40 a year.

Yet, that's still not enough to prevent cuts to other services, including £4million from the adult social care budget.

Some extra money will come from motorists who'll be charged an extra 20p to cross the Itchen bridge.

It's the first increase in two decades and is expected to raise half a million pounds a year.