SWINDON Council and other South West authorities are ganging up on the Government over social services in the region.
The council's head of adult services, Avril Evans, was among more than 100 delegates who attended a regional conference in Exeter recently, which resolved to demand more money from the Government for council care services.
The conference concluded the Government needed to be more positive about the role of local council run services, and to match this with extra funding.
It also resolved to keep up pressure on the Government for fairer treatment for the South West and to recognise its particular issues such as the growing numbers of elderly people, and the cost of delivering services in rural areas.
The delegates also felt the Government had failed to understand or recognise the role of social services in supporting the NHS, and agreed to work together as a region in future lobbying.
The conference came after a report from the social services inspectorate showed Swindon Council was performing below the national average on about a quarter of its social services and housing tasks.
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