£7m cuts ‘will put the elderly at risk’

DRASTIC CUTS to social services in Hull will put the vulnerable and elderly at risk, the Unite union has warned.

Unite said the council, which agreed to consult on more than £7m cuts yesterday, should be telling the Government “enough is enough”.

The cost-cutting plan includes reducing the amount of support people get to live independently at home as well as cutting the number of residential places for people with learning disabilities. Charges for the council-run Lifeline alert service could also go up another £1 a month.

The proposals could also see opening hours at waste disposal sites cut and a limit put on how much waste charities dump for free.

The Labour leadership say the council is bearing the brunt of Government austerity and is being forced to make the “drastic” cuts. It brought in a jobs freeze on Friday as it tries to get to grips with a £5.7m overspend.

Unite convenor Peter Schofield doubted whether it could make the necessary cuts given an overspend of nearly £3m in adult social care already this year.

He said: “We are not talking pennies here – we are taking millions out and when you do that people have nowhere to go. There aren’t going to be people assessing if people are safe because there won’t be enough people to ensure they are safe. People will slip through the net – we could end up with a death on our hands and a serious case review – that’s the scary bit.”

Coun John Black, who chaired the meeting, said the picture could change between now and February’s budget-setting but said: “The council does not have control over its income. We are very vulnerable to national Government policy.”