Home care charges for the elderly and disabled will be abolished by Hammersmith & Fulham Council, helping more than 1,000 people in the area.
The move to eradicate the so-called ‘tax on disability’ was announced at a public meeting at Hammersmith Town Hall to mark the UN’s International Day of Disabled People.
The final decision will be voted on at the council’s annual budget-setting process in February which, if approved, will take effect from next April.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan, said: “I am pleased we have found the money from back office cuts, such as from the council’s PR and admin budgets, and today announce that this administration will abolish what has rightly become known as a tax on disability.”
Home care charges in H&F are a ‘tax on disability’ and will be abolished. Watch: http://t.co/N50qUMRNKD Read more: http://t.co/3rnZyXbyRC
— H&F Council (@LBHF) December 5, 2014
Kevin Caulfield, team member of Equal Citizen Services, said: “It’s a really incredible day.
We have been campaigning for this for over eight years and we never thought we would see the day we would have a council administration that would listen to us.”
There are 1,266 people in Hammersmith and Fulham who need help carrying out everyday tasks like cleaning, shopping or just having a bath.
The current home care charge is £12 an hour, which can cost some residents as much as £281 a week.
The scheme is being funded by £400,000 cuts in PR, council publications and lamp post banners and will cost £324,000 a year to run.
