MORE than £1.5m has been allocated for the county from the Government, including money earmarked for adult social care.

The extra funding for Herefordshire Council comes from the latest Local Government Finance Settlement.

The funding includes £1,055,000 in recognition of the extra costs associated with delivering services in a sparsely populated rural county.

There’s also an additional £550,000 to support adult social care services, which continue to face pressures due to the growth in the number of older people within Herefordshire and those living with a lifelong disability.

Councillor Nigel Shaw, cabinet member for finance, housing and ICT, said: “We’re pleased the government has recognised the challenges we face when delivering services in a rural county, by awarding us additional funding.

“Unfortunately, this additional funding is a one off payment for 2018/19, so can’t be relied upon going forward.

"We continue to face cuts to our ongoing funding from the government; it's reducing by £203,000 in the same year.

"As adult social care costs are significantly increasing, it’s imperative that we carefully consider how best to use this extra funding, to ensure maximum benefit for local residents.

"We will continue to ensure that residents are enabled to live safe, healthy and independent lives across Herefordshire.”

The council's Cabinet will decide how this funding will be allocated at a future meeting.

Nationally the gap between demand for adult social care services and the resources available to provide them, is estimated to be around £2.3bn.