Hampshire County Council to cut £700k from social care spend

Social care grants are dished out to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across Hampshire

A council has agreed to make cuts of almost £700,000 in charitable grants to social care groups.

To balance its budget, Hampshire County Council needs to make savings of £80m by April 2023.

At a meeting on Thursday, the authority agreed to cut £320,000 from social care organisations and £360,000 from non-statutory homeless services.

The authority has already cut £22.6m from children's services and £10.2m off its transport and environment budget.

Councillor Liz Fairhurst, executive member for adult services and public health, said: "Nobody wants to make budget cuts but we're left with no choice.

"We have to provide a balanced budget by April 2023, while also fulfilling our obligation to deliver services.

"These measures aren't ones we would like to take but we felt there was no other option."

'Far reaching consequences'

The social care grants are split between neighbourhood care, community support and rural connection services, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

They are dished out to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across Hampshire.

MHA, a charity that provides services for elderly residents across Hampshire, said: "We are very disappointed.

"This is a decision which will have far-reaching consequences for older people who are supported by our MHA Communities schemes in Hampshire, along with the other affected community groups."

The council said the decision came after a six-week public consultation and scrutiny from the county council's health and social care select committee, comprising of councillors from across the political spectrum.

The authority added it would help charitable organisations find funding from elsewhere.