Members agreed to increase the cost of Wightcare services in order to balance the Council’s budget deficit for the service, which is currently losing over £450,000 per year, at a meeting of the Executive last night (Tuesday).
Increased charges will be delivered in two phases over the next two years in order to protect residents’ finances as much as possible.
The Isle of Wight Council surveyed users of the Wightcare service and their families earlier in 2015, and the majority of respondents (69.8%) agreed that this vital service for around 2,300 Island residents needs to be self-sustaining in order to ensure its survival, by opting for the increase.
Councillor Steve Stubbings, Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Community Well-Being, said:
“Wightcare is an essential and high-quality service for many vulnerable Island residents, which must be maintained. We want to make sure that this increase in charges, although necessary, doesn’t impact too heavily on the vulnerable users of the Wightcare service.
“As the council strives to reduce its spending levels in response to the Government’s national austerity agenda, balancing the books of our services is a positive step forward to achieving our savings targets.”
The number of emergency calls to Wightcare has risen considerably, from 4091 in 2012, to 5719 in 2014.
The existing deficit faced by the council is £451,413 each year. Charges will increase for each level of service by £2 per person/per week in 2016/17, and by a further £2 per person/per week in 2017/18. This option means that a deficit will remain in 2016/17 (of£211,668), but will be rectified by the following year; however, Wightcare clients will be better protected against a one-phased increase to balance the budget.
| Current rate per week (£) (excluding VAT) |
From 2 November 2015 per week (£) (excluding VAT) |
From November 2016 per week (£) (excluding VAT) |
|
| Service level 1 | 2.65 | 4.65 | 6.65 |
| Service level 2 | 5.50 | 7.50 | 9.50 |
| Service level 3 | 7.00 | 9.00 | 11.00 |
The majority of Wightcare (98.41%) clients are exempt from paying VAT.
Members also voted to increase the initial installation charge to £40 from £33.10 (excluding VAT).
