Disabled adults to feel budget squeeze as day trips cut back

Relatives of adults with learning disabilities who attend council-run day centres in Hull have been told there will be fewer pub lunches, bowling, horse-riding and trips to the cinema and more “in-house activities”.

Letters informed relatives that cuts would begin this week – but since then the council has said that the letters were sent out in error, but they will start next month.

However to add to the confusion a trip to Hull Truck Theatre, for people who go to Ings and Bilton Grange Community Centres, was cancelled on Monday, the council claiming it was due to lack of staff.

Under the Liberal Democrat budget proposals agreed last month, the service has to save £1.6m. Rooms within nine community centres used for day care will close, including at Bilton Grange, Costello and The Orchard. Users will be redirected to the remaining five council-run day centres. The George Ashton centre will close in April.

Relatives fear the quality of care will drop with people crammed into fewer centres, and far fewer staff to care for their individual needs.

Andy Wright, whose son Lewis, 20, attends the Bilton Grange Community Centre, said: “They’ve said it will go back to the dark old ages and put kids in chairs and have them watch videos, but it’s no good for my lad.

“There’s no hope for him if he’s going to be stuck there all day. He’s a real happy kid, but once he gets bored he goes off in a real strange mood. I just think he’d get depressed – he’d probably sit there rocking all day.”

The letter said: “Due to the proposed changes we will need to make some adjustments to individual programmes, there will be more inhouse activities and less going out to facilities in the community. Staff will endeavour to provide a varied meaningful programme of group activities to stimulate and develop individual skills but the service will be different to what people are used to.”

Lynn Gamble’s 23-year-old son Joel attends the Orchard Centre. He is severely mentally and physically handicapped and uses a wheelchair. She said: “It will affect my son but maybe not as much as the more able ones because they will obviously know what they are missing. People with learning disabilities get used to being in certain places and used to having certain routines. If they have bigger centres are they going to have enough staff to meet their one to one needs?

“This is a backwards step – it’s what they tried to get away from years ago, when they said they wanted to get them out into the community.”

Labour councillor Mary Glew claimed confusion over the future of the service was all part of a smokescreen, the Liberal Democrats trying to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.

Coun Glew said: “Obviously there’s been some ineptitude if they can’t send the letter out at the right time, or is it just another smokescreen? Maybe the intention was to cut the service early, who knows? Once we get in May, we will put an alternative budget in and restore the service – that’s our intention – but we will still be losing excellent staff before we can get in and alter things.”

Hull Council’s corporate director for neighbourhoods and families, Trish Dalby, apologised for the “miscommunication”.

She said: “There are going to be changes to the provision of day centre activities as a result of the difficult budget decisions the council had to make last month. This will include more of a focus on centre-based activities. Since the introduction of personal budgets people have much more control and choice over what support and activities they can access.

“Before April we are going to be talking to people that use the day care centres, and their carers and families, about how these changes may affect them.”