Disabled people ‘terrified’ by new council policy will see them placed in residential care

Disabled people in Bristol have said they are concerned that a possible new policy proposed by Bristol City Council could see them forced to move to a care home instead of being cared for at home because it is cheaper.

Council chiefs have ratified a £4m cut to the £153m budget that pays care providers to care for disabled people at home, and one way the council is looking to do that is with a new draft of policy that would judge whether it would be cheaper to put someone in a home instead of continuing to pay for visitors or live-in caregivers.

Disability activists said they feared the tweak to the policy would have “catastrophic implications for the independence of disabled people”, and called on the council to drop the idea.

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The proposal was first revealed in this year’s budget at City Hall in February, when council chiefs outlined the pressures on their budgets. The council said it estimates there will be a funding gap of some £87.6m over the next five years to 2028, on top of the £34m of savings and efficiencies proposed in this year’s budget.

The council said some of the savings will have to come from what is known as the Adult Social Care Purchase Budget, the budget the Council uses to buy care for people who are eligible for care and support under the Act. of Attention, after an evaluation. .

“It can be used to purchase a range of services including direct payment, home care, residential care, assisted living, day services or technology-enabled care,” a council spokesperson said in outlining the budget in February. “Our current spending on care exceeds the budget available within the council and therefore we must find ways to spend less while continuing to fulfill our statutory duties and ensure people receive the care and support they need to remain independent.” they added.

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