TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington look set to double the charge for adult social care transport.
Members of the borough council’s executive board will next week consider options for increasing the charge to increase annual income from £130,000 to £330,000.
The option being recommended by officers will increase the flat rate charge for a single trip to £3.35 per trip – an increase of £1.75 and approximately double the current charge.
Average charges will increase from £9.60 per week to about £20.
Officers say any rise in charges for social care transport will be unpopular. They admit some service users may protest strongly and refuse to pay the charges, resulting in expensive measures to collect income and a damaging impact on the council’s reputation.
Some service users may suffer financial hardship.
But there is already a robust appeals process which takes account of an individual’s circumstances and ability to pay and the council has the discretion to waive charges in particular circumstances of financial hardship, they say
The council has carried out widespread consultation with service users and other interested people.
Two options were suggested, both of which would produce additional income of £200,000 a year.
Option 1 involved large increases in charged for people “with means”, based on ability to pay, with a flat rate increase for all others users of 40p extra per trip. Option 2 involved an easy to administer flat rate increase of £1.75 – approximately doubling the charge.
The council sent out 520 consultation forms and received 120 responses of which 61 – mainly older people – preferred Option 1 and 49 – mainly disabled people under 65 – preferred Option 2. Ten expressed no preference.
Either option would involve in the majority of users paying an increase and would produce the same income. However, feedback from open forums and meetings suggested that Option 2 was considered more equitable.
Most people consulted accepted the council’s reasons for reviewing charges but were unhappy with the level of the rise. A small number indicated they would have to stop attending day care altogether as they would not be able to afford either option.
Social care transport charge to double
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
9 Comments
Diabolical.
Now this is what the Jones woman should be shouting about.Within 12 months the people who are most disadvantaged or disabled will be stuck in their houses because they cannot afford to go out. What is happening in this country when we as a nation/town cannot be bothered to look after our vulnerable residents. WBC hang your heads in shame, better still resign.
Don’t most of the people affected get Disability Living Allowance which has a mobility element of either £49.85 or £18.95 per week, I assume that that money is to pay for things like transport to day centres. Maybe that is why WBC has decided to increase its charge. Perhaps free bus passes for OAPs should be means tested and the savings used to pay for adult social care transport.
Silversurfer, it appears that WBC have no shame, nor honour nor honesty, and after their throwing all principles to the wind in setting up the ‘unholy alliance’ as a means to grasp power it is very unlikely that they will resign!
On the news page just yesterday…. “Cllr Campbell said the council’s priorities would include protecting frontline services, safeguarding vulnerable children, young people and adults………….” (Whilst all along these cuts were planned!) Council leader Ian Marks was quoted as saying “We are proud of what we have achieved over the last four and-a-half years………” Well cutting funds to basic services for some of the most vulnerable in society will be another item he can add to his infamous list of ‘achievements’. People in most areas of the town will have already experienced the devious, behind closed doors tactics and callous dictatorial practices of this Exec board – but this latest proposal is about the lowest of the low!
Silver Surfer – take a look at Ms Jones’ full statement on the Council budget and you’ll see that she does raise this. Devil is in the detail!
It’s incredible that WBC are seeking to increase their annual income (by more than 50%, btw), from such a vulnerable group.
Rachman would have been proud of you.
Warrington Eye, you seem to have very little insight into disability issues. The buses used for day centre services are specially equipped for wheelchair users, carry escorts to assist and are meant to operate on a not for profit basis. Other forms of transport for the disabled are from the private sector and as such expensive. If it’s going to cost £20 per week for travel to a day centre they will have little left for travel to doctors/hospital appointments or to go shopping or to visit friends and family. You suggest means testing bus passes for pensioners as an alternative way to save money. I would suggest scrapping the airy fairy multi-million pound ‘regeneration’ of Bridge Street, which WBC insist WILL go ahead despite the cuts.
What do we elect a Council for if its not to provide frontline services for the community and particularly the vulnerable? Or do we just pay for an ever growing bureaucracy? Where are your priorities Councillors? Time to think about what the residents of the Borough really need!
One small paragraph is NOT headline news.
And as for Warrington Eye, you haven’t got a clue. Get out of your ivory tower and find out what it is really like.
Funny how the likes of Councillor O’Neil can claim over £5,000 a year in travel expenses and yet vulnerable people are being ripped off like this. The councillors in this town cost us nearly £650,000 a year to fund. Time to get shut. Reduce the number of Councillors by half (and include O’Neil in that half) and we would save more than enough to pay for the transposrt costs. These greedy barstewards make me sick