'Too few quality checks' Council auditors issue social care warning

TOO few quality checks are taking place at the hundreds of firms providing care for elderly and disabled people in Bristol.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

Bristol City Council spends more than a quarter of a billion pounds a year on adult social care however a recent investigation found a lack of checks on how this is spent.

Around 5,500 people are supported by the council’s adult social care department. The majority of this work is contracted out to around 500 care firms, the number of which has rapidly risen recently. But council auditors warned that these firms are not being properly monitored, which councillors described as “quite worrying”.

This year the council is planning to spend £268.7 million on adult social care. This makes up 20p in every pound the council spends on day-to-day services, far more than other services like collecting bins, fixing potholes or running libraries, which tend to be more visible to the public.