Meeting on the 9th February Luton Council’s Labour Executive confirmed budget cuts including closing Sherd Lodge old peoples’ home and Hockwell Ring day centre.

Documents approved at the meeting show that closing Hockwell Ring day centre will cut £10,000 from the Council’s budget and closing Sherd Lodge Old Peoples’ Home £279,000, although the Sherd Lodge savings will not be realised until 2010-11.

Other cuts include £125,000 a year by privatising more of the Council home care services for people who are looked after in their own homes.

“There has been no consultation at all with any of the people affected,” says Liberal Democrat opposition leader David Franks. “The news is likely to come as a bit of a shock to them.”

“The residents of Sherd Lodge are frail and elderly and they have not been told where they are to be moved to or even asked if they want to be moved at all. Sons and daughters of elderly people in the Council’s care are entitled to expect that there would be some dialog before a closure decision is taken.”

“All this and a 4% Council Tax increase when the latest RPI inflation figure for December was 0.9%.”

“They really do have an astonishing cheek. Only three weeks ago they forced though an 87% pay increase for the Labour leader, they are increasing Council Tax by more than four times the rate of inflation and now we can see exactly who is going to pay the price.”

“Obviously we will be going over the figures very carefully”.