Care home owner's fear as Plymouth City Council approves cuts to adult social care budget

  • Watch Sam Blackledge's report here.

The owner of a Plymouth care home has told ITV News she is worried cuts to the city's adult social care budget could affect the well-being of residents.

On Monday councillors approved their financial plan for the coming year, setting out more than £23million worth of savings, which also includes a hike in council tax.

Every year, Plymouth City Council spends millions of pounds on helping almost elderly and vulnerable people in care homes - but demand is rising all the time.

Council bosses say they are committed to ensuring those most in need are not left behind - but to do this, they need to cut costs.

The council believes it can save £3.6 million on adult social care by 'managing and reducing demand.'

Cindy says care home budgets are already 'very lean'. Credit: ITV News

Cindy Willcocks, the owner of Thornbury Villa care home, said: "The idea of having to make savings in adult social care really does worry me because I think we're already quite lean. So to squeeze any more out of it would be a real difficulty, I think."

Labour put forward an amendment, which includes a new council tax premium on second homes.

Cllr Tudor Evans, Labour leader, said: "Our budget today puts ambition at the heart of Plymouth again. We'll have proposals to help the poorest in our city.

"We have proposed rules to get the growth going in the green jobs market and also will give help to those who need it most, who are struggling the most."

Labour put forward an amendment to the budget. Credit: ITV News

Conservative council leader Richard Bingley said: "Balancing a budget is never easy. We have been dealt a massive challenge on a scale not previously experienced for many years.

"International factors have impacted us here like never before - the impact of war in Ukraine, the impact of the pandemic. These have mounted up to create an unavoidable local government financial storm. This was a crisis and we treated it like crisis recovery."