Residents in Elmbridge will be aware of current plans for significant changes to Community Services across the borough. While I am grateful to Elmbridge Council for sharing with me the details of the new community support model which the Council is planning to introduce, having reviewed the information in detail there are a number of key issues that do not appear to have been fully addressed.
Given the importance of ensuring quality community services which can meet the needs of residents, I have therefore written to the Council asking them to provide further details, including:
- Whether current plans will result in the removal of support from anyone?
- Can EBC guarantee that the meals on wheels service will not be withdrawn from anyone until individual assessments of need have been made?
- Why is this happening now? With local Government reform due to happen next year, introducing a change that will take 18months to implement does not make sense. How will the Council ensure this does not result in additional disruption and cost if a further restructure should be required under a new unitary model?
I also have significant concerns about the suggestion that cutting £1m from the budget, equating to 25% of its total, will deliver improvement in services. While I am sure it is possible to create efficiencies at the same time as improvements to services, such a large cut to the budget would seem to indicate that services will see reduction in scope, quality, or accessibility—if not all three.
I have requested the Council address my concerns, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of residents who may be affected by these changes.