Mencap criticises Wirral Council proposal to close Moreton Day Centre

A national learning disability charity has criticised a Merseyside council’s proposal to close a day care centre.

In a report to Wirral Council, Mencap’s Stephen John said shutting Moreton Day Centre would be “catastrophic”.

The proposal to close the centre, as part of Wirral’s £109m budget savings over the next three years, goes before the council on 13 June.

Director of adult social care Graham Hodkinson said he would “ensure anyone who needs a service receives it”.

The proposal has been open to a public consultation, which ends on Wednesday, and more than 15,000 people have signed a petition against the plans.

‘Reduced reliance’

Mr John said the council “have not fully grasped the negative impact this consultation has had already and the catastrophic impact placed on people if the centre should close”.

“Although the local authority did produce a consultation document, parents, carers and attendees of Moreton feel that not enough has been done to consult people with a learning disability,” he said.

“There has not been an adequate easy read document made available and there was and is much confusion among attendees.”

Mr Hodkinson said the charity had been “invited to discuss their findings and their concerns” and he would be taking their report to the cabinet meeting next week.

He said the council “appreciate Mencap’s contribution to the consultation, but given that the consultation has been under way for months now, we are disappointed that their response appears to be out of line with the progress made and submitted so late”.

“The recommendation to close Moreton has been made primarily due to the size and design of the service – we are trying to move the service to one that reflects national best practice [and] our new model allows services to be delivered flexibly across Wirral with reduced reliance on day centre buildings,” Mr Hodkinson said.

He added the council had “acted with integrity throughout and had due regard to the needs and aspirations of people with disabilities using the centre”.