I want to say thank you to the hundreds of residents of Bedford Borough who signed our petition calling for the implementation of the cruel Telecare Tax to be stopped.
The good news is that the Conservatives have now dropped their plans to charge our most vulnerable residents over £200 a year.
The Telecare service helps support people to live independently, they can press a red button on a necklace and get help fast. This means our most vulnerable can live independently for longer.
So many residents asked their local Liberal Democrat Councillors for help in tackling this unfair proposal. We agreed and our councillors demanded that the decision was stopped.
We were supported by Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent members of the Adult Services Committee who also agreed to raise their concerns. I was particularly pleased that even some Conservative councillors did not oppose this.
If you ever thought signing a petition was a waste of time, please think again, because this time democracy worked.
In June, Cllr Hilde Hendrickx wrote her column for this newspaper and there were very real fears that this vital emergency service would be charged for. It was in no small part due to your support that the decision was changed.
Read: Monthly Column: Council’s new £200 charge for vital lifeline
Approximately 3,200 people use the service, and one resident wrote to Hilde to say, ‘I live alone and therefore the Telecare service is an essential service and it also gives me great peace of mind.
Without it, if I fall at home and I’m unable to get myself up, I will be unable to raise the alarm and call for help.’
These were the people who were so afraid of the charges.
Currently, we are hearing that residents wait a number of weeks for help such as a visit from an occupational therapist.
Leaving such residents without the support of Telecare presented a real risk that vulnerable people were going to be left alone at home with nowhere to turn.
So, thank you.
Did you ever think petitions were not worth signing?
Democracy worked.
Your voices were heard.
This is not about political back and forth, it is about a genuine cut to a service for the most vulnerable in society being blocked.
The council would not have backed down if concerns had not been raised.
Thank you.
This is a monthly guest column provided by Cllr Henry Vann,
leader of the Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group.
It is published unedited and does not reflect the
views of the Bedford Independent.
