Doing more with less
The current economic climate means we are all having to do more with less, and this is no different for the city council especially when prioritising its support for some of our city’s most vulnerable people. 
This has meant having to make difficult decisions when settling future care packages with those companies and organisations we pay to look after our older people across the city.
In all these negotiations we need to see value for money for our council tax payers while making sure the city’s most vulnerable people receive high quality services, and more importantly dignity in their care.
This is the background to our conversation with our care home provides and I know some are not happy with the final offer.
The city council is not interested in putting anyone out of business, particularly companies that provide a home to some of our most vulnerable people, but we do need to do what we can with the decreasing amounts of money we receive from central government.
We would like to offer all our residents and nursing care providers’ reassurances of our intentions regarding this service area over the coming years, and we aim to have longer term budget plans in place which will clearly indicate our plans and priorities up to 2016.
We hope this will provide future confidence and stability to the residential care market in Newcastle.
We appreciate that care homes are facing the same cost pressures as we feel in the public sector but we are working to make sure this is fair for everyone.
The majority of care homes have signed up to this deal and we are looking forward to working with the sector in the coming years.
