Fury over plan to axe 28 Telford council care jobs

The borough council's top Tory has now demanded an urgent meeting with adult social care chiefs in a bid to get the proposal binned.

The row erupted after it was revealed yesterday that the Labour-led authority is consulting on proposals to scrap its entire enablement service in an effort to save £750,000.

Enablement service staff help people who have just left hospital or who need support to stay in their own homes, such as the elderly and disabled.

If the proposals get the go-ahead in August, following consultation with staff and unions, the council would commission private agencies to provide the service instead.

Councillor Arnold England, cabinet member for adult social care, said the authority had "no choice" but to make the cuts as it needed to slash £5 million from adult social services this year.

The idea was, however, blasted today by Andrew Eade, Conservative group leader on the council, and fellow borough Tory Roy Scammell.

Councillor Eade, who represents Church Aston and Lilleshall, said: "In the alternative budget we put forward for the year we set aside £2.1 million for adult social care to cushion the effects of any changes which would come in.

"That budget passed scrutiny and would have worked, indeed could work perfectly well now, but Labour rejected it.

"Now they are effectively putting all their resources into Pride in the Community, which is for environmental maintenance such as tree cutting and tidying up. What a surprise with an election in mind.

"Adult social care should be an absolute priority. That is not to say that some cuts don't have to be made, but not in that area.

"This also comes after the council spent £1.4 million on failed attempts to fight plans for a Morrisons supermarket in Newport through the courts and it now looks set to spend another £600,000 on a second inquiry.

"I am going to seek an urgent meeting with the council cabinet member for adult social care and the relevant director to see if we can find an alternative to the proposal to cut the entire service."

Councillor Scammell, who represents Newport North, said: "It is absolutely disgusting. Labour is effectively farming vulnerable people out to the private sector to save money.

"These members of staff built up relationships with the people they care for and now they will get strangers.

"They can't count on seeing the same person each time either.

"It is supposed to be a caring council but they only care about themselves."

Councillor England said the scale of the cuts the council faced meant savings had to be made.

He said the private sector was better placed to provide the service and the cuts proposal would ensure clients still received a quality service.