CHARGES faced by thousands of vulnerable people for adult social care are set to rise dramatically across the county.

More than half of the 13,000 people who receive day care services, meals on wheels and home care from Lancashire County Council would be forced to pay more under the proposals.

County Hall bosses hope the changes, which have been approved in principal, will provide around £5,250,000 in savings as they look to make cuts of £179million over the next three years.

But campaigners said people would suffer because of the move and accused the council of having "no compassion".

Around 7,600 people across the Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre areas face increased prices, which would be charged on a sliding scale.

Examples of increases include:

  • Day care charges would increase from £5 a day to between £30.75 and £53.80
  • Home care would range from £11.96 to £13.15 rather than £11 per hour. The cost would double when two carers are needed
  • Home delivered meals would rise from £3.25 to around £4.05
  • Maximum charges would be scrapped
  • Those with savings greater than £23,250 would pay the full amount while those with savings less than £23,250 would be offered a financial assessment, after which they would pay 85 per cent of their net disposable income rather than the current rate of 60 per cent.

Those with an income of less than 25 per cent above income support level would continue to pay nothing.

The draft plans, which gone out to consultation, include a 12-month transitional period, during which people who already receive support would not pay more than an extra £50 per week. However, this cap would be increased by £50 each subsequent year.

County Councillor Mike Calvert, cabinet member for adult and community services, said under the plans many service users would still pay less than if they lived in other parts of the country He said: "We must recognise that we no longer have the resources to subsidise social care as we have done in the past. In fact we need to raise more money to help meet the growing demand for services.”

Hyndburn Mayor Malcolm Pritchard, who is also Hyndburn's disabled people's champion, said the county council had gone back on its pledge to protect the most vulnerable people in society.

He said: "They are hitting the most vulnerable people because they are the easiest to get at and it's totally wrong. They have no compassion, they are just looking at money.”

Geraldine Moore, chief officer for Age Concern Lancashire, said the council had always shown a commitment to supporting vulnerable people but was now faced with very difficult times.

She said: "Day care is probably one of the services we need to look at to see how it can be offered in a different way, so older people are not faced with this huge hike in prices."

County Councillor Peter Mullineaux, the county's older people's champion, said he was concerned about the changes, but that savings had to be made.

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said he hoped people less able to cope for themselves would not be affected financially.

He said: "There is more than enough fat in the county council administration to make savings without affecting people on the frontline.”

Stroke victim Judith Taylor says she fears older people will be “left to rot” because they won’t pay increased charges.

The 36-year-old stroke victim needs help as she struggles to wash, dress herself or make a meal, after being left paralysed down the left-hand side of her body by a stroke last year.

But the mum-of-three said she has already seen the amount of domestic support offered to her cut because of “budget pressures”.

Now she relies on family and friends to help her on a day to day basis.

As a former carer, Judith, of Garden Street, Great Harwood, said the proposed changes would hit those with modest savings the hardest and she was especially concerned about what would happen to older people.

She said: “Carers say a lot of the older people don’t understand what is going on.

“They won’t understand these changes, until one day when they get a big bill.

“There are also people in their 70s, bless them, who have worked all their life to have that money.

“They will end up suffering and dying because they won’t want to pay for it.

“It’s happening all the time, people are just being left to rot.”