Wirral and Liverpool “looking at” shared adult social services, says Liverpool City Council – but Wirral says no

Dec 14 2011 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

WIRRAL Council has insisted no discussions over sharing adult social services have taken place with Liverpool.

Conservatives in Wirral criticised the council after it was revealed a range of options for sharing services across Merseyside were part of the city council’s budget negotiations.

The document indicates Liverpool believes it can save almost £4m for 2013 by sharing parts of adult social services.

Conservative leader Cllr Jeff Green said it was “outrageous” people in Liverpool were being consulted on changes to services in Wirral – while those in the borough were not being told about it or asked an opinion.

He said he did not object “in principle” to sharing services but such changes needed consultation first.

A spokesman for Liverpool City Council said: “Although no detailed discussions have taken place about the budget option for sharing adult social work service teams, there has been an agreement by the authorities that they would look at sharing services.

However, Howard Cooper, Wirral’s interim Head of Adult Social Services, said: “In the light of recent erroneous claims, there are no plans to share services with Liverpool City Council, and there have been no discussions about the development of any shared services.”