Sir,-I work as a hairdresser to the elderly and have close personal contact with my clients.

Because of the worries conveyed to me concerning the £5 daily charge Richmond upon Thames Council are proposing to levy on day centre members, I would like to express my concerns about this plan.

Councillor Mathews said the last administration had not reviewed the situation for some time but they did, three years ago when they withdrew the funding from St Luke's, Kew Meadows Hall, Richmond and subsequently Whitton Day Centre.

Fortunately, The Community Trust at The Avenue Club in St. Luke's and Age Concern at Mead-ows Hall and Whitton, took over and with their own fundraising, commitment, hard work and grants from various bodies including the council, now provide excellent facilities for the elderly.

She also said that no charge is made at present for day care but it is my understanding an annual subscription is charged and members pay for all catering and activities in which they take part.

Cllr Mathews said they cannot increase the council charge too much, but what exactly do the elderly get from their share of the Community Pot'.

Although one cannot generalise, the people who use the centres are not usually the younger active pensioners, who tend to use the further education and leisure facilities which are subsidised.

They do not have children who use playgrounds, schools or colleges, but when they did, they paid rates.

They cannot afford the theatres they too are subsidised.

Libraries are often out because of failing eyesight.

So what are their needs? In my job I do a very personal service and know how much the centres mean to them.

When councillors visit the centres they see happy, smart, well presented people and why? Because they have somewhere to go, a reason to get up and dressed and out to meet friends and enjoy refreshments, lunch and many varied activities at an affordable rate.

This age group are afraid to go out in the evenings for fear of being mugged and now the council intend to take away the options of daytime socialising with their peers in a safe and comfortable environment.

For those not on income support, to pop in to a council run centre and just have coffee with friends will now cost £2.75 or an exercise class, £4.40 instead of £2. What nonsense. Even salaried people wouldn't pay this.

This will exclude many of the elderly and so we will have people isolated and marginalised within a community they helped to build. It seems to me, the respect and care they rightly deserve is not forthcoming from Richmond.

The result of course will be, that membership of centres will drop and give the council the opportunity to do what they have surreptitiously wanted from the start -close the social day centres.

I have no political axe to grind, but I have listened and applauded at council meetings where then Tories decried the Lib Dems when they made swingeing cuts in social services and now sadly think of the hypocrisy of it all.

The previous council said they had no statutory obligations to the elderly, only to the infirm and disabled, it seems the present council are of the same ilk.

Neither seems to be aware there are emotional needs that are as important and need to be met. If they have no statutory obligations, have they no moral obligation?

I have not touched on the administration nightmare when implementing the "means test" to decide who pays the charge.- Wilma Greig, Gordon Avenue, Twickenham.

January 30, 2003 16:30