BRIDGEND Council has approved three new strategies for its social services department over the next five years ahead of what are expected to be “significant challenges.”
The plans, which were approved by council members in April, were developed to set out how the current services will need to “change and develop” before 2028, in order to meet the needs of people in the Bridgend area.
It is a plan that focuses on three key areas, with new strategies set out for children, young people and transition, adults with lifelong conditions and complex needs, and regulated community care, mainly in older person’s services.
A report presented to council members read: “This strategy describes how we will contribute to the wider health and wellbeing agenda by promoting independence and choice for individuals living in the county borough. These strategies reflect the seven wellbeing objectives laid out in the council’s corporate plan.”
Officers said the plans came as services continued to face increased financial pressure, with an ageing population, increase in demand, and new regulations coming in from the Welsh Government.
It could result in significant changes to some service areas with the directorate projecting a “considerable overspend position” estimated to be worth more than £12 million at quarter three of the 2023-24 financial year.
These could include reducing costs and making efficiencies by carrying out reviews of community hubs and daytime opportunities, along with the authority’s accommodation-based services.
It could also look to increase the capacity of specialist domiciliary care providers in the borough, as well as expanding supported living services, and further developing fostering services and residential provisions.
Cllr Jane Gebbie, cabinet member for social services and health, said she expected to see significant challenges for the directorate in the coming years, though added she was pleased to see that all three of the new strategies would be “citizen centred, accessible, and flexible” highlighting a need for the service to be innovative in order to save funds.
