Stockport Labour Group has called on the Council to ring-fence around £1 million a year of funding the borough will receive to support severely disabled residents.
The move comes after the Government closed the Independent Living Fund (ILF), which had previously supported 80 people in Stockport, on Tuesday 30th June.
Labour Councillor Wendy Wild, who raised the issue at the Council meeting on July 2nd, said ‘On average ILF users received about £300 a week, allowing them to live more independent lives and have more flexibility with caring arrangements.
‘The Council have been aware that this money was being ended for some time, I asked a question about it back in April, but there hasn’t been much reassurance for people who will be affected by the changes since then.
‘It is imperative that support continues to be available now that the ILF has closed.’
A recent Freedom of Information request from the BBC and the charity Disability Rights UK revealed that just under a third of Councils in England have promised to ring-fence the money they will receive from Central Government in order to support local disabled people.
Liberal Democrat-run Stockport Council has made no such guarantee.
During 2014-15, the last year the fund was still open, disabled people in Stockport received a total of £1,095,747. The Conservative Government is now likely to reduce this figure, which makes ring-fencing the remaining funding even more important.
Coun. Wild added ‘The closure of the ILF has created a great deal of uncertainty for disabled people and the Lib Dem Executive need to show some leadership and promise to safeguard this support, which is the minimum required to play an active part in local communities.’
The £320 million Independent Living Fund provided support for 18,000 disabled people across the country until it was closed by the Government earlier this week.