Social work services are at a “tipping point” with year after year of cuts taking a toll on services, unions are warning.

In a Spotlight series this week, the Glasgow Times is looking at the council’s budget and the impact of further cuts on key services.

Without more money from Holyrood, around £60 million needs to be cut from the council budget and another £20m to £30m is expected from social care on top of that.

READ MORE:'We are burnt out': Glasgow care worker warns of impact of more cuts

The council runs social care services through the Health and Social Care Partnership and includes services to children and families, adults and older people, homelessness, mental health, and drug and alcohol addiction services.

The social work budget is separate from the council’s where around £60m is expected to be cut.

Already homeless services are under pressure and there are 6506 people in temporary accommodation in the city including 2700 children.

Fears that greater demand for addiction services is not being matched with additional resources will lead to people being denied the treatment they need.

And older people's care services have been described as being at the bare minimum. 

Unions are warning that unless politicians say no more cuts are possible, service provision will hit dangerous levels.

Stuart Graham, Unison vice convenor for social work in Glasgow, said: “This year feels like it’s getting to a tipping point, where once services are lost, they can’t be replaced.

This has been going on for 13 years. It is the quality of services that people have come to expect in Glasgow that is affected.

“This is about the overall reduction in that quality of service.”

READ MORE:Spotlight: Council in crisis as Glasgow faces cuts of £100m this year

He warned that some statutory services will be in breach of service or staffing levels.

He added: “Staff in social work are completely overwhelmed by the complexity of demand and the lack of commissioned resources.”

The union rep said care homes are at a crisis point with staffing down to the bare minimum and addiction services are harder to get into and there are fewer of them.

He added: “We are getting to a tipping point where we get into a local government that is looking at cutting statutory services.

“Politicians need to stand up and be counted. What is the point of them delivering more cuts?

“Will it take something dangerous that attracts a level of risk before people will act?”

Chris Sermanni, Unison Glasgow Social Work Convenor, said: “The reality is there are no ‘safe’ or ‘palatable’ cuts. Any reduction in funding has a significant impact on the delivery of key services in Glasgow.

"Social Work services in the city are at crisis point as it stands, and implementing these cuts would be catastrophic. 

“Glasgow needs more money, and our local politicians should be fighting for this, not timidly passing on austerity handed down from Holyrood and Westminster.”

Services for older people include council-run residential care homes and care at home.

Older people’s charity, Age Scotland said so many council services affect older people and cuts also impact other services like the NHS.

Adam Stachura, head of policy at Age Scotland, said: “Fundamentally it is critical to people’s wellbeing. Almost everything the council does impacts older people.

“Social care delivered by the council is essential to people’s ability to live.

“There is nowhere near enough provision of Social care.

“There is a long wait before people get a care package and by the time they do  their needs are greater.”

Any cuts to home care will have an effect on the NHS increasing the delayed discharge of patients who are otherwise fit to be allowed to leave.

He added: “Any proposal to cut funding for care home places means people will find hospital is the safest place to be kept.”