Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has warned that uninterrupted care for vulnerable adults and children must be a priority as three local authorities prepare to merge into a single unitary body.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council will be abolished and replaced by a new North Staffordshire unitary authority. A shadow authority will be created next spring to plan how services will merge, and to take on some responsibilities currently held by Staffordshire County Council, which will also be abolished.
Care Services Split Across Current Authorities
Currently, care for vulnerable children and adult social care is provided by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in the Potteries area, and by Staffordshire County Council in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands.
Council Raises Questions About Transition
Cllr Vanessa Renshaw, Cabinet member for Housing and Public Protection at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, has written to Stoke-on-Trent City Council with questions about care provision and planning during the merger.
In her letter, Cllr Renshaw said: "We all recognise that these are not ordinary administrative services that can simply be moved from one organisation chart to another. They support vulnerable children, older people, adults with disabilities, families in crisis and people who depend upon care services to live safely and with dignity. Any disruption, confusion or decline in performance could have devastating consequences for the people concerned."
She added: "Lives, safety and personal dignity depend upon these services working properly every single day. By working together now, sharing evidence openly and addressing risks at an early stage, we can help ensure that no child faces greater risk, no vulnerable adult loses essential support and no family is left navigating uncertainty because the authorities responsible have not prepared sufficiently."
Related Council Concerns
The letter follows separate correspondence from Deputy Leader Graham Shaw, Cabinet member for Finance, who has asked Stoke-on-Trent City Council what Government help it is seeking to clear more than £783 million of debt before the city council joins the new unitary authority.
Cllr Ben Simpson, Cabinet member for Waste, Recycling and Green Spaces, has also written to ask about Stoke-on-Trent City Council's plans to improve waste services to meet Government minimum requirements.
