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   12 month repreive for Salford day centres
Two Salford day centres threatened with closure will stay open for another year, the council has decided. Humphrey Booth in Ordsall and Craig Hall in Irlam were set to close under council plans. The two provide vital support for elderly people and those with learning difficulties. Campaigners fighting to prevent the withdrawal of funds for the day centres were told on Friday 3rd February by council leader John Merry that their protests had been successful. Since the council announced plans to withdraw funding before Christmas, staff, service users, carers, families and the wider community have battled to keep them open. Cllr John Merry told campaigners in a statement: "In discussion with the Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health [Cllr John Warmisham], I have come to the conclusion that some further work must be done before we go any further. "This work will take some months so we will not be proceeding with the changes in 2012/13." He confirmed that any future changes to the service would be done by - sharing resources between the centres - making sure "all 490 people who use our day services would have individual reviews taken. - demonstrating that the council have more locally available alternatives for people. Over 700 people participated in the consultation process and the council confrimed that they would be fully considered before any further changes or closures would be proposed. "I know that this has been a difficult time [but] I stick with my pledge of protecting the most vulnerable in the City," said Cllr Merry. Cllr John Warmisham then confirmed that the centres will not lose funding as part of the 2012/13 Council budget. Steven North, Branch Secretary of Salford City UNISON celebrated the news, saying: "This vindicates the work of all those workers, service users, carers, families and ordinary members of the community who have fought to keep the day centres at Craig Hall and Humphrey Booth open. "It is a great achievement for all those who believe that services for vulnerable people should be protected." Mr North asserted that UNISON would look for longer-term guarantees around the future of day services for the elderly and those with learning disabilities. "From a trade union point of view we also need to be clear that our members who work in this service, and who have fought so hard with the service users are secure in their jobs." He added: "But we will enjoy this moment." Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
