ELDERLY, vulnerable and disabled people who need the help of the social services face a continuing nightmare.

Higher charges and fewer services are still on the agenda despite two years of belt-tightening.

Cash-strapped bosses brought in draconian measures to wipe out a £3 million overspend.

But while the budget is getting back on an even keel, they say another £1.1 million needs to be raised if they are to fully fund services this year.

This includes raising £238,000 through new and increased charges, and cutting back on community care pilot projects by £141,000.

Mr David Ashworth, director of social services, said it would be no surprise if the council received increasing complaints and maybe legal action.

"This council does not get its fair share of the national cake, and therefore we are underfunded and left doing the best we can," he told Tuesday's committee meeting.

"The organisation is feeling the strain. Everybody is trying to squeeze out every penny, but tightening criteria means people who have received a service will now be ineligible." Liberal Democrat leader Coun Vic D'Albert welcomed the improved financial position: the district auditor had castigated social services for lack of budgetary control.

"At last we are in a position to look ahead, there's light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

"The whole situation has been compounded by the lack of financial controls.

"Now we will know exactly where the shortfall lies. The problem we had in the past is that we were clutching figures from thin air."

But the director said every local authority in the country had too few staff wrestling with large community care budgets.

"The same team has been delivering a balance year in, year out. This time it went awry.

"I believe we now have a system which we realistically expect to deliver a certain amount of services," said Mr Ashworth, adding: "Members have often expected services with inadequate money."

Labour councillor Sue Arnall said: "My concern is that we are meeting a financial target but not the needs target which we set ourselves, and there will be gaps in the service. We need a bigger budget, and we have to see how we can get that."

Mr Ashworth said the tough "root and branch" talks with the finance officers had left the department in a stronger position.

"For the first time, the borough treasurer and I agree what the budget should be," he said.

"Before, managers knew on the first day that the budget they had would not cover them for the year.

"We are not out of the woods yet, but we are on target to achieve a balanced budget."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.