Elderly and vulnerable people who can afford to pay for day care services in Richmond will see their fees increase from April this year.

The council says this is needed to make the service, which offers support for those still able to live at home, more sustainable in the long-term.

The changes only apply to those who can afford to fund their own care, and were approved at this week’s Adult Social Care committee [February 10] after a consultation last summer.

They are expected to generate an extra £75,000 for the council as part of a package of planned ‘efficiency savings’ for the committee totalling £743,000.

Feedback showed that half of users who responded (eight people) were against the fee increase, prompting the council to introduce the changes over a longer period to allow people the time to plan.

Day care costs without transport will increase from the current charge of £75 a day to £83 in April.

This will then increase to £88 a day in April 2022, a 17.3 per cent increase from today’s fee.

But day care costs with return transport will see the biggest jump from £90 to £100 per day from this April.

This will increase again to £130 a day from April 2022, a 44.4 per cent increase overall.

Officers said that people with savings over £23,250 (the limit set by the government) are normally required to fully fund their care, but Richmond had been subsidising day care services.

They said this was not a sustainable method in the long-term.

The council will also stop offering a six-month free promotion for its Careline service to help reduce costs.

Careline is an alarm service that allows vulnerable people, many of them elderly, to connect to a 24-hour response service by activating a pendant or alarm.

It is used by more than 2,600 people, but is showing a deficit of £230,000 against a budget of £122,000.

Cutting the promotion is expected to bring in an additional £45,000 a year.

Officers said they felt this would not impact the existing service as cutting the trial would only affect potential new customers.

The service will also be part of a new staffing structure in June 2020, with Wandsworth Council, which is expected to make further efficiency savings.

Officers predict Carline will be back within budget during 2020/21, and will break even by 2021/22 without direct subsidy from the council.

Councillor Geoffrey Samuel opposed the changes to the Careline service and said he may raise the issue at the next full council.

Officers said they understood the service was a lifeline for many, but the extended free trial period was “a luxury we cannot really afford at the moment.”