Will the extra funds announced yesterday solve the problem of bed-blocking?

'WE need more money," was the message delivered by council leaders to Health Secretary Alan Milburn yesterday as he announced radical plans to tackle bed-blocking.

The Darlington MP revealed the plans as part of a six per cent rise in social services spending. He said local authorities would now have responsibility to reduce bed-blocking - where beds are needlessly taken by elderly patients waiting to be discharged from hospital.

Councils will use the extra resources to expand care at home and extra residential care places. But if they do not make headway on a situation which is already taxing many North-East authorities, they will bear the brunt of hospital costs caused by bed-blocking.

Yesterday, council leaders welcomed the cash, but insisted it may not be enough to solve the bed-blocking crisis. A statement for the Association of North-East Councils said the region would need around £45m to fully address the problems. "Additional funding of at least £24m is needed immediately for 2002/03 to avoid significant additional reductions in service impacting adversely on care and health targets in the short term."

David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, says: "I think it would be illogical to penalise local authorities for something which may be the fault of other areas."

But Shadow Health Secretary Liam Fox claims the Government is pushing through another stealth tax, because local authorities would turn to council taxpayers to meet the bill.

Unison spokesman Owen Davies says local authorities need to be given time to rebuild their homecare capacity before any question of financial penalty. "This sting in the tail has the potential to make social services departments feel even more vulnerable and under even more financial pressure," he says.