Consultation on plan which could see Shropshire pensioners receiving care losing £5 a week

At a meeting of Shropshire Council's cabinet, members agreed to press ahead with a recommendation from a report proposing the minimum income guarantee (MIG) for a single person be cut by £4.74.

It said this would bring the minimum amount down to £189, while older couples would lose out on £3.35 each a week, taking them down to £144.30.

The move, which is option two in the consultation, would raise £467,000 a year for the council.

Option one would see the MIG stay the same, but "would effectively cancel out" the pension increase by upping the required care contribution. This would raise £250,000 a year.

The report said option two would bring the authority in line with the legal minimum.

Councillor Lee Chapman, cabinet member for adult social care, said: "We face some difficult decisions as a local authority, but I would remind members and colleagues that adult social care is means tested. As such, those most vulnerable and particularly those with low assets do not have to make a contribution towards their care."

Pressures

The report set out the need to make savings within adult care in response to "increasing demand, demographic pressures and rising contract costs."

It continued: "The cost of adult social care purchasing expenditure is forecast to increase by an average of eight per cent per year over the next five years.

“In such circumstances it is inevitable that the council must seek to maximise its income in a fair and transparent manner.”

Councillor Alan Mosley, Labour group leader, questioned why there was no option in the consultation to make no changes at all.

Speaking after the meeting, he said: "Shropshire Council are guilty of daylight robbery. Of the two options, one will result in many elderly people gaining virtually nothing from their annual pension rise and the other would actually result in pensioners being almost £5 a week worse off.

"This is a diabolical way of treating some of our vulnerable people who may be struggling to make ends meet and who are less able to have their voices heard."

The council had previously set its (MIG) above the statutory minimum.

A final decision on the changes will be made by cabinet after the public consultation.