Social care leaders in Wales want more long-term funding

Support for vulnerable people across Wales is at risk because of a £69m overspend in social care, council leaders have said. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents Welsh councils, said social services responded to nearly 450,000 contacts in 2023-24 – an 8% rise on the previous year. They warned that without long-term investment from the Welsh government, essential care for children, families and older people would become harder to sustain. The Welsh government said there had been a significant amount of investment in social care and councils had received a 4% rise in their budgets to help fund services. As a manager for children and family support services in Bridgend, Kayleigh Roper and her team aim to keep children at home safely with their parents wherever they can, but said it was becoming increasingly difficult. "Things for families are harder, we've got families who are being pushed further into poverty and are more marginalised. "We've got a lack of resources in the community which makes things really, really difficult for our families," she said. The number of referrals to her team has increased year on year with the cases becoming more complex. Sin