Let me know what you think about the Council's decision

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have seen fit to recommend that the most vulnerable residents in the borough should be charged an hourly rate of £12.40 for home care. The Tories have boasted extensively about their cut to council tax but now every elderly and disabled person in the borough who requires home care will pay for that cut within the first two hours of care.

The final decision will be taken at the next meeting of the Cabinet on Monday 16th June.

The Council have also published the full details of the consultation which are an instructive read. Here is what the Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust had to say about the proposal:

"We're concerned that homecare charging will reduce the health and wellbeing of some vulnerable people through the predictable effects of having lower disposable income."

"The proposed charge is a flat £12.40 per hour for all types of homecare; as this charge is about 30% above the market rate for non-personal care tasks such a shopping and cleaning, it is likely to push service users who don't require personal care services towards non-commissioned service."

"Whilst I appreciate that a flat charge is administratively simpler, we believe that clients should be encouraged to take up commissioned services wherever possible so that there is some control over service quality and delivery approach."

"We see potential for the development of integrated home based services between health and social care. Such joint arrangements are difficult to manage if one part of the joint service is subject to charging and the other is not. We therefore ask that there is sufficient flexibility in any charging policy that's adopted by the Borough to allow charges to be waived where we have joint/integrated home based services."

The set of written responses from users is more revealing still. Here is a selection

"Leave the system as it is ... Find your funding elsewhere ... I am already handicapped by being disabled."

"[Don't] expect disabled people to pay when others don't have to pay for education or rubbish collection."

"Seems wrong to charge someone because they're disabled or need care. In a way, this is discrimination."

"It was not necessary to reduce the council tax charge. The 3% would have provided the money."

"I don't know as I am 95 and blind & was told the NHS would look after us from the cradle to the grave."

"Home care should be free. As it is, now you have to charge us. It should not be more than £6.80 per week for 5 hours as the Council used to charge us in the past until we were given free home care by the Labour Council. Why should the present Conservative Council want to change the system for money when Labour did not?"

"I am severley disabled and have amputations of both limbs so I can't pay this charge you are asking me about."

"May I remind you that in your election campaign your promised not to bring in charges for home care ... Why the change?"

"Whilst generally one should pay if one can reasonably afford it, one notices the Council's intention to cut council tax again. I hope that residents will enjoy the reduction knowing that it has been brough about by penalising the disabled and elderly."

"No one should be charged for getting old and disabled."

"This charge is unfair. To hit the vulnerable is the cowards' way out."