Protest to fight disability cuts proposals

Protesters have held a series of meetings and demonstrations to fight planned cuts Credit: Meridian Tonight

West Berkshire Council is holding a meeting on Thursday evening where councillors will discuss a raft of proposals. In January the authority highlighted a drop in its grant from central government of £7.5m in three years and stressed a need to save £25m over the next four years.

A decision on whether to withdraw £64,000 of funding for Mencap services is on the agenda. Residents fighting the cuts are planning to hold a protest outside the meeting. A West Berks Mencap spokesperson said they believed 'the impact and potential risk to individuals and families will be enormous - and ultimately is in danger of costing West Berks Council far more compared to what it will be saving in the short term.' if the cuts were to go ahead.

A few days ago West Berkshire Council revealed that residents who provide unpaid care for adults or children with disabilities, could get some short breaks from their duties with cover funded by a £50,000 one-off allocation from the local authority. This proposal will be put before a meeting of West Berkshire Council on Thursday evening.