Cost of Kirkby man's care rises after Nottinghamshire County Council cuts support

Although Daryl Lees, aged 53, only received his letter on November 5, his social care funding was reduced on November 12, giving him just seven days to arrange and pay for his own care. Mr Lees said: “I got six hours care a week and I contributed £160 per month towards it.

“The direct payment Nottinghamshire County Council paid to make it up has now stopped.

“They gave me just one week notice, with myself having dementia, to try and sort something out.”Mr Lees, who lives on Sycamore Avenue, Kirkby, said he will struggle without the care, and is now paying for care for just three hours care a week.

However, Nottinghamshire County Council dispute this, and say that they have not stopped the payments, but Mr Lees will now have to pay more towards his care.

Councillor Stuart Wallace, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, said:“The Council is always looking to provide good quality services more efficiently which will help address its £54m budget gap. “As part of this, we’ve reviewed the way we seek contributions for adult social care services as we currently fund more of people’s care costs compared to many other English councils. “This hasn’t been an easy decision, but we’ve agreed to take into account a person’s higher disability benefit rates and higher rates of income when deciding how much a person has to contribute as recommended by the Department for Health.

“We have consulted services users and have kept them informed of potential changes since July.

"We will support people affected by the changes to ensure their needs continue to be met and they are receiving all of their entitled benefits and allowances.“We will also continue to provide the additional disability related expenditure allowance of £20 a week and consider waiving charges for reasons of financial difficulty or hardship. “This change has resulted in 58 per cent of service users making a contribution towards their care compared to the previous 46 per cent.”

Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero said: “Mr Lees contacted my office last week and I was so sorry to hear of the dreadful situation he has been left in.

“I have contacted the county council on his behalf and am awaiting a reply.

“More and more of my constituents are complaining about difficulties getting suitable adult social care packages or care home places.

“It is clear that Government cuts to local council budgets are having serious effects on local people.”