‘Rethink disability cutbacks’ urges MP

The Tory MP has sent a strong letter to Warwickshire County Council (WCC), urging them to rethink its plans to for a £1.7million cut to the Integrated Disability Service (IDS).

We reported last week how the WCC said it is has to modernise the services to save money.

But families affected said thousands of children relied heavily on the IDS support.

Mr White’s letter, addressed to the leader of WCC, Alan Farnell, said there is a case to be made for ring fencing the IDS.

He also expressed concerns over the WCCs’ consultation with affected families.

He added: “The IDS provides a service which is vital in supporting disabled children and their families and despite budgetary pressures, I believe that these vulnerable residents should be fully protected.

“I would therefore urge you, most strongly, to reverse these proposals and to ring-fence the IDS budget or, at the very least, drop the proposed figure for budget reduction and carry out a full consultation on the service before deciding on any figure.”

“I appreciate that Warwickshire County Council is being asked to make efficiencies and savings, as are all parts of the public sector.

“However, I believes that there is a case to be made for protecting certain budgets which support some of the most vulnerable people in our community - and one such case is the IDS.

“I am also concerned that there has not been a proper consultation with those affected and the wider community in the course of this process. I believe that consultation on the need for services, and the impact that the loss of services could have, should take place before the figure is proposed for reducing the IDS budget, not after such a figure has been proposed.”