Elderly support service cut criticised by council

Cuts to a 24/7 emergency helpline for elderly residents have been pushed through without consulting users, say councillors.

North Yorkshire Council is overhauling its Lifeline service to create consistent support across the county, which became a local authority in 2023.

The changes mean monthly or quarterly visits to users in Richmondshire, Harrogate and Selby will become annual visits and an extra service where staff attend a user's home after they sound the alarm will be cut – however, fees will be unified.

While the changes were approved by Conservative councillors, the decision was called in by opposition members who said they were worried about its impact on vulnerable residents.

At a meeting of the council's Housing and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday, independent councillor Stuart Parsons said residents in his area were "furious" about the changes.

"It may save tuppence but we've had a very, very successful relationship with the system that exists," he said.

"I think it's about time we listened to the people we're supposed to care for rather than turning around and saying 'this is it' which is what's happening."

The Lifeline service provides alarm support and response to help people continue to live in their homes.

Prior to local government reorganisation in 2023, the service was run by district authorities.

Officials said this meant variations in services with some areas not offering any support.

Labour councillor Steve Shaw-Wright told the meeting there had been more discussions about the colour of new waste bins.

"We haven't had consultation, or any meaningful consultation, with the users of the service, the families of those users, the third sector, the other organisations that could have been involved to assist in making the decision that this council made," he said.

But independent councillor Cliff Lunn said: "It's something that we had to do with council tax, we unified things, and I think we've got to do it. There are winners and there are losers."

Andrew Rowe, assistant director for housing for the authority, told the meeting it was not possible to keep some of the elements of the service without subsidy from taxpayers or users.

"The difficulty is these items don't stack up financially for a council. That's what a lot of this comes down to, the cost implications," he said.

The committee voted for a proposal to 'do nothing', which was passed by seven votes to six, with the Conservative members voting for and all other councillors voting against.

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