What's happening
Faced with inflation, rising demand for social care and years of Government cuts, Newcastle City Council has some tough decisions to make to balance the books in 2025-26. Since 2010 the council has saved £381m and is forecast to need to save a further £62.8m over the next three years - £21.3m next year rising to £23.5m in 2026-27 and then £18m in 2027-28. The Council's Cabinet met on Tuesday 10 December to consider the proposals and begin a five-week consultation period so the public and partners can give their views.
Our proposal for our Reablement Service
The Reablement Service is a preventative service which aims to address people's immediate care and support needs and prevent crises. It involves occupational therapists and other support to help people maintain or increase their independence in managing day-to-day tasks such as personal care, cleaning and cooking. We propose several changes to the service, including:
- Implementing a preventative approach at every point at which people come into contact with this service. This could be the first point of contact, or when we review the service they are getting.
- Increasing service capacity to respond to new contacts and requests for support, and providing an enhanced therapy service.
- Looking at how equipment and technology can support people to stay independent at home.
- Improving our short-term response to crisis and hospital admissions to reduce people's need for additional support by helping them to recover from crises, and remain independent at home.
- Supporting people who need two care workers to help them move about through the work of Moving and Handling Co-ordinators to see if hoists, equipment and other support can improve their independence.
- Reviewing care packages in a timely manner to ensure that people are receiving appropriate support.
We estimate that this will save £4.75million (for reference, the net budget for the service is £58million).
What we would like you to do
The full details of this proposal can be found here: Promoting independence through the use of our Reablement Service 2025-26 IIA (PDF). You can give your views by taking part in our short survey, at the bottom of this page, and giving us your views on this proposal, and any suggestions you have for how we can save money or generate income. You can also share your thoughts by emailing us at: letstalk@newcastle.gov.uk, and we have also produced a PDF copy of our questions, which can be printed off, completed, and returned to us at: FREEPOST Let’s Talk (this is the full address) if this is easier for you or someone you know:
Our other service proposals, and the budget as a whole
This year we have two proposals - listed below as 'Integrated Impact Assessments' - about 1) changes to the reablement service (this is a short-term service that helps people regain the skills and confidence they need to live independently at home), and 2) Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept. We also have a survey asking for your views on the budget as a whole, and you . We would like to hear any comments you have to make specifically about these proposals - click on the links below to give your views.
If you, or someone you know, need an Easy Read version of information about our budget, you can read this here: 2025 2026 Newcastle Council Budget - Easy Read.pdf
People's Budget - our budget simulator
The People's Budget is our online budget simulator, where residents can try out setting their own spending priorities for the city, looking at how we might make savings, generate income, and what to do about whether or not to raise Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept. To try it for yourself, click here: People's Budget 2025-2026
What happens next
We will consult on our draft budget proposals from 11 December 2024 until 15 January 2025. In February 2025, Cabinet will be asked to recommend the post-consultation budget to City Council. City Council will debate and vote on the budget at their meeting in March 2025. We will publish the final budget proposals, including a report on the consultation findings, on our website: Newcastle City Council. Thank you for giving us your views.
