Increases

Crippling charges to day care users were confirmed by the Conservative administration at the full council meeting on February 1. The £5 per day care charge will affect around 450 elderly who use day care each week.Anyone who uses a day care centre or the community meals service will find increases to their total care package in the order of £10 per week or more, which equates to an eight per cent to 13 per cent council tax increase. One of the council's principles is to support the elderly but this level of charging will be amongst the highest 20 per cent in the country.All for the sake of £1.08 per council taxpayer per year, yes an extra £1.08 per year from each council taxpayer would have retained day care free to those who least can afford huge increases in expenditure. I am convinced that the vast majority of North Somerset council tax payers would have supported the additional point one per cent council tax increase to retain free day care for the elderly, so instead of a 1.9 per cent council tax increase there would have been a two per cent council tax increase.I and Councillor Leimdorfer have given formal notice that we wish to call in the executive decision as published in the council's agenda on February 19 to introduce day care charges. The Adult Social Services and Housing Policy Scrutiny Panel will debate the issue week commencing March 3.It is a bit ironic, besides clobbering the elderly, North Somerset Council has also decided to cut its funding to the much loved Mycon youth club in Nailsea which attracts around 200 young people a week. The youth club is likely to close down unless £40,000 of additional funding can be identified.District COUNCILLOR Andy Cole, Nailsea East