The cost of supporting vulnerable Isle of Wight residents to live independently is expected to rise this year and will potentially go up again next year.
In the 2022/23 budget papers, published earlier this week, the leading Alliance group revealed plans to raise £101,000, by raising the price of the Wightcare service.
What Wightcare provides
It provides technology, living aids, round-the-clock monitoring, welfare calls and other solutions, to ensure those who need help can remain in their homes.
The council says charges have not gone up since 2018. Now, fees could rise by up to 13 per cent, in some cases.
Services that could see an increase
A 36 per cent increase would make it break even, but councillors admit that cannot be achieved in single price hike.
Which charges could increase?
- The one-off installation charge for the service from £80 to £90
- Monitoring from £6.80 to £7.70
- Monitoring and response from £9.72 to £11
- Telecare from £11.25 to £12.73
Current fees not reflective of the actual cost
Leading Isle of Wight council members say the current charges are not reflective of the actual cost of the service and argue it requires an extensive subsidy.
Overall, £3 million in savings must be made when the authority meets on February 23, along with a likely rise of 2.99 per cent, including for adult social care.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Danie Franco under CC BY 2.0
