Care for the elderly and vulnerable adults in Somerset could soon be changed forever as the new unitary council seeks to rein in rising costs.

For every £1 of council tax collected by Somerset Council, 38 pence goes to fund adult social care, with the budget for these services being set at £186m for the current financial year.

With inflation pushing up costs and demand for services increasing as Somerset's population ages, the council is working with consultancy firm Newton Europe to look how the service can be improved to save money.

Following an initial review in November 2022, the council's executive will decide in early-June whether to push forward with a plan which could save more than £14m over a four-year period.

The vast majority of the council's adult social care budget is spent on supporting people with statutory care, such as residential homes placements for the elderly or providing support for adults with disabilities or learning difficulties.

In order to cut costs, the council wishes to put more focus on preventative measures, so that people retain their independence for longer and do not need to rely on intensive care packages which can be expensive to deliver.

Initial estimates indicate that up to £14.2m of savings could be delivered by 2027, with much of the money coming from short-term interventions designed to address problems before they escalate into more complex needs.

If the council proceeds with the Newton Europe contract for the transformation, it will cost £3.5m over a two-year period, with minimum savings of £10m a year being guaranteed.

Of the £14.2m target, £11.3m is expected to come from changes to services to older adults, with sooner intervention leading to fewer residential placements and less home-care being required.

The council estimates that these changes could lead to more than 200,000 fewer hours of home-care being needed to be commissioned each year.

Additionally, it could lead to 80 fewer residential placements a year and around 100 adults with a learning disability moving out of a residential home and back into their local communities.

Councillor Dean Ruddle, the newly-appointed portfolio holder for adult social care, said: "We are exploring investing to save and investing to improve.

"One of our four priorities is to support 'a healthy and caring Somerset'. While our adult social care service is already performing well, we have to find ways of coping with the constant pressures of rising demand and the growing complexity of resident's care needs.

"If we are to continue to provide a high-quality service, we need to constantly explore how we can become more efficient whilst improving our care, and managing taxpayers' money effectively.

"Investing to save is investing in better serving our residents and fulfilling our statutory duty as a council."

The transformation proposals were debated by the council's adults and health scrutiny committee when it met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (May 31).

Councillor Claire Sully (whose Mendip South division comprises numerous villages south of Shepton Mallet) said: "How are we going to measure improvements to productivity?

"Isn't underfunding over a number of years part of the big picture here – are we setting ourselves to fail by cutting from a gap we already had?

"What are the risks and consequences of these savings to people's lives?"

Mel Lock, the council's executive director for adult services, send that a reduced spend on adult social care was a sign that people were enjoying more independence and a higher quality of life.

She said: "If you do the right thing for people, I guarantee that savings fall out of that.

"There is a budget gap – there will always be a budget gap and you will have to take tough decisions.

"What we can do is make it better for people – and often by doing less for people from a spend point of view, using families and communities, you will find a solution which is better for individuals.

"Our productivity could be better, and the structure that we have in place will help that."

Councillor Hilary Bruce (Bridgwater North and Central) questioned whether the council would end up overly reliant on the voluntary sector to deliver services.

She said: "If something sounds too good to be true, it sets alarm bells ringing in my head. If they [Newton Europe] tell us do something to make a saving and we don't, what happens?

"We're going to be relying on community organisations and families to step up and provide some of these services."

Ms Lock responded that the council would always make the final decisions on savings proposals, and would not be strong-armed by any consultants they employed.

She said: "We've identified the areas together, signed off by our finance team, where we think we can save money.

"Newton Europe is not a team that comes in and tells you what to do. The changes don't happen overnight – it's a four-year programme."

The proposals will go before the council's executive committee for further discussion and approval on June 7, with further updates being provided to the scrutiny committee in due course.