Liberal Democrat Motion on Extra Care

Following the emergency budget last week the Liberal democrat Group has reluctantly decided to withdraw its Notice of motion on Supported Accommodation in Leicestershire.

Simon Galton, Group Leader said:

"We originally submitted this motion to start a debate following the report to Cabinet on the future of Care Homes. We submitted this motion on a Monday, and on the Tuesday the emergency budget was delivered. The extent of the public debt and the need for fiscal restraint became incredibly clear to me.

Currently, the Emergency Budget and CSR is anticipated to cause a reduction of up to 25% in government Department budgets over 4 years and this may have an impact on County Council budgets. Local Councils have already been told to find £1.165bn and Leicestershire's share came to a further £9.9m on top of the £66m the Conservatives already claim we need to find in the Budget. This is a new financial reality.

At the Group meeting, it was clear that any proposal to rethink the Council's strategy or to redirect money would not be prudent at the current time. The group therefore decided that the withdrawal of the motion would allow time for the dust to settle from the emergency budget, and allow us to see the details of the Comprehensive Spending review in the autumn.

The Liberal Democrat Group still believes that this is an essential issue that needs to be debated by Members, our position remains that there should be a local facility to cater for the needs of elderly people in each district. Existing homes should remain open until new facilities are provided."