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Councils in England are now spending almost two-thirds of their budgets on social care, and it’s costing them almost £4bn more than 10 years ago.

That leaves less room in the budget to pay for other services provided by local authorities, like bin collections, road maintenance and public parks. And it’s rural councils with the oldest populations which are being stretched most.

Councils that have made cuts say they are responding to a combination of pressures, including rising inflation, the sharp reduction in government grants since the 2010s, and the increasing demands of caring for an aging population.

Local authorities in England spent more than £30bn on social care in 2021/22, out of £49bn total spending on all services, excluding education. That’s an increase of almost £4bn, or 15%, since 2012, even after adjusting for inflation.

Meanwhile, spending on transport services has declined by £1.2bn, spending on culture and the environment has reduced by more than £1bn, and spending on housing has gone down by £300m in real terms.

See what your council spends on social care

Halton Council, in Cheshire, spends more than 80% of its total budget on social care, a massive increase from just 52% in 2012. The £92m they spent in 2021/22 is £20m higher in real terms than what they spent in 2011/12.

Over that period they have cut spending on street lighting by £1.7m – a huge two-thirds reduction – and road maintenance by £600,000, a 25% cut.

Many of the areas spending the least on social care – in some cases actually spending less than they were 10 years ago – were in London.

In Tower Hamlets, for example, they spent £13m less in real terms on social care in 2021/22 than they did in 2011/12, while spending about £130,000 more on road maintenance.

Why is this happening?

Over the past decade there has been a change to how councils are funded. The reduction of government grants, beginning in 2013/14, meant they needed to raise more funding directly.

There is a limit to how much councils can raise in council tax – capped at 5% a year – and not all councils raise it by the maximum amount.

‘The government have to take it more seriously’

Councillor Rob Moreton, an independent councillor in Cheshire East, told Sky News about his personal experiences of trying to get jobs done amid tight council budgets:

“I’ve been trying to get this road resurfaced for four years now. I just get constantly told there’s not the funding for it this year ‘We’ll try and get it on a scheme for the year after, no money available’.

“Social care is very important. But potholes are also important if it’s costing car drivers thousands of pounds in broken springs, punctured tyres, and everything else.

“It’s totally unacceptable. We need more funding from central government. In 2020 we got £19m, then it was reduced to £15m and this year is £17.3m. The government are now producing £200m nationally for councils, but for Cheshire East that’s £2.3m, which is less than the £5m they’ve cut from us in recent years – we’ve had a 41% cut.

“The government have to take it more seriously and start funding councils. They have lost touch with local councils.”

Councils also have legal obligations that they have to fulfil, which limits where they can make savings.

For example, they must provide social care to those young and old people who are eligible for it.

Who’s eligible for council-funded social care?

So if more people become eligible for social care – which happens naturally as the population ages – council costs start to rack up. This has left some councils with difficult financial decisions to make, particularly those with older populations in rural areas.

Areas where more than a quarter of the population are over 65, like Devon, Suffolk and Dorset, which were among the highest social care spenders in the map above, have seen their social care costs rise by more than 40% in real terms since 2012.

If councils are limited on how much more money they can bring in, and they need to spend more on social care, they are forced to make cuts elsewhere to make their budgets work.

Councillor Tim Oliver, chairman of the County Councils Network, told Sky News: “Over the last decade, councils in county areas have seen a significant decrease in government funding at a time when their elderly populations have increased dramatically, with the number of over 65s in those areas rising by 1.1m from 2011 to 2021. At the same time, demand for children’s services has also increased rapidly.

“As a result, those councils now spend 64% of their budgets on average on these two service areas, with councils having to balance their legal duties to care for elderly and young people eligible for care with the funding they receive.

“Increasingly, this has meant money has been re-routed from bus subsidies, libraries, and community health services to make up the shortfall elsewhere.”

Jackie Weaver, a former parish councillor who became temporarily famous in 2020 when she was told that she “had no authority” over a meeting of Handforth Parish Council, in Cheshire, in a popular social media video, told Sky News that a contraction in services at county and district council level mean that town and parish councils are having to fill the gap:

“All the kind of community stuff that is visible, that makes us feel good, doesn’t happen anymore. They don’t have any money to do it.

“What we are seeing is that town and parish councils are stepping forward and picking up the slack. Over the past 10 years they’re recognising that nobody’s going to do it for us. If we want an improved transport scheme in the town, or a neighbourhood plan, then we’ve got to step up and do it ourselves.”

We put our findings, and the responses from councils, to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. A government spokesperson said: “We are making an additional £5.1bn available for councils in England in the next financial year.

“We are also providing multi-year certainty to local government, outlining spending over the next two years to allow councils to plan ahead with confidence.”


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Boy saved from burning car after M6 crash caused by suicidal ex-RAF pilot, inquest hears

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Boy saved from burning car after M6 crash caused by suicidal ex-RAF pilot, inquest hears

A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.

The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.

Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.

The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.

Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.

In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.

He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.

Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.

“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”

He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”

At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.

The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.

Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”

The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.

Jade McEnroe and son Arran. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

Dominic and Filip Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.

Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.

On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.

Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.

After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.

Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.

She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.

Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.

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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.

She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.

He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.

She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.

“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”

Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.

She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.

Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.

Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.

The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”

Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Thomas Kettleborough: ‘Vile’ former police inspector caught in child sex sting

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Thomas Kettleborough: 'Vile' former police inspector caught in child sex sting

A ‘vile’ former police officer who was caught in a sting operation after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed.

Thomas Kettleborough, 35, then an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to meet up with ‘the teenager’ after communicating with him on Grindr and Snapchat.

However, he was actually speaking to undercover officers.

After being detained at a car park in Bristol, officers found a bag in the boot of his car containing “an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints,” Exeter Crown Court heard.

More than 150 indecent images of children were also discovered on his phone and computer.

Kettleborough used the apps to have sexually explicit chats with the teenager, using the name Liam, while claiming to be 28, prosecutors said.

In February, he pleaded guilty to several child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Last month he was sacked by Avon and Somerset Police and barred from policing for gross misconduct.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Thursday.

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the public would be “appalled by the vile and manipulative actions of this former officer”.

She added: “He was caught following a policing operation designed to keep children safe which has resulted in his wider offending being identified.”

Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough’s crimes took place over four years,

The former officer held positions of trust in the police, the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, but “concealed his true identity through an online persona as ‘Liam’, ‘L S’ and ‘Liamss5506’,” Mr Wells said.

Mr Wells added: “Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed.

“Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so.”

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Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes.

He added that the former officer had “done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did.”

Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

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Girl, 13, dies in house fire

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Girl, 13, dies in house fire

A 13-year-old girl has died after a house fire in Merseyside.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) said it was called to the scene in Prescot, in the borough of Knowsley, at 11.42pm on Wednesday.

Crews arrived to find a blaze in the rear bedroom of a mid-terraced house.

In a statement, police said: “A man, woman and five children were able to escape from the property unharmed.

“Sadly, a 13-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family are aware and are being supported by specially trained officers.”

Police said four firefighters entered the property with breathing apparatus to tackle the fire, which was on the first floor, and search for people.

The blaze was extinguished at 12.29am on Thursday.

A joint investigation involving MFRS’s Incident Investigation Team and Merseyside Police has been launched.

Detective Inspector Steven O’Neill said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the young girl at this very sad time…

“A joint investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and the girl’s family is being supported by specially trained officers.”

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