East Lothian Adult Care Funding Boost

By shoring up its adult social care budget to the tune of £1.5m, East Lothian Council has taken steps to help county residents who are deemed to be “most in need.”

Unanimously approving the allocation of capital from council reserves at a meeting on October 28, elected members agreed it was necessary to address service pressures in the current financial year and for anticipated future service demands.

Councillor Ruth Currie, Cabinet member for adult social care, explained: “The council has faced unprecedented demand for services which has exceeded the available budget.

Population

“Although additional government funding will be made available to local authorities for 2009/10 onwards we face an immediate funding shortfall which requires prompt action.

“East Lothian has experienced the second highest population growth of a local authority area in Scotland in recent years.

“The proportion of older people in East Lothian is substantially higher and places considerable strain on particular council services.”