Call for re-think on cuts hitting East Lancashire disabled people (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Call for re-think on cuts hitting East Lancashire disabled people

10:00pm Wednesday 27th February 2013 in News By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

A VETERAN councillor is urging county council chiefs to reconsider cuts totalling £5million to the adult and community services budget.

County Coun Malcolm Pritchard, a former Mayor of Hyndburn, has called on the authority’s leader, County Coun Geoff Driver, to reconsider reductions, confirmed as part of the third year of a three-year spending programme.

Coun Pritchard said that four years ago, when Coun Driver was interviewed on television, he pledged that his administration would not cut services which would ‘hit the most vulnerable people in society’.

But he told a full council meeting that Lancashire was following the same lead as Whitehall in cutting money to services for the disabled.

Coun Pritchard said: “This is an issue which is very, very dear to me, because everyone in this room knows how much I fight for the disabled.”

He said that he welcomed the investment in dementia services, but was concerned at the heavy reductions in day centre services, which were vital for many elderly, and disabled, people across Lancashire.

Coun Mohammed Iqbal, who represents Brierfield and Nelson North, said that the budget was the last throw of the dice by ‘Desperate Geoff and his friends’ before the county elections.