Campaigners organise march against rising cost of adult social care

Organised by the group Warrior Carers Sussex, the march will start at the Market Cross, in the city centre, at 9am on Friday September 23.

The group will gather at County Hall before the council holds a meeting of the Health & Adult Social Care scrutiny committee.

The march had been planned for the previous week but the meeting was postponed following the death of the Queen.

Inviting others to join the march, a spokesman said the protest aimed to ‘support people being crucified by extortionate care charges’.

There was an outcry last year after a review of the financial assessment process for those receiving adult social care left some in debt and others giving up on support they could no longer afford.

The charges are made to pay for services provided to those with care needs, either independently or in a family home, such as attending day centres or even helping with respite care.

They vary from person to person.

Such was the impact that Warrior Carers and the group’s supporters marched on County Hall in September 2021 and again in March this year.

Among the campaigners was Sarah Welch, whose adult son has cerebral palsy, sight problems and learning difficulties.

Sarah saw her charges rise from £37.70 per week to £73 per week – an increase she said was ‘demonising’ those in need of care.

In January, cabinet member Amanda Jupp apologised for the ‘anxiety and stress’ endured by people who saw their social care charges sky-rocket.

She added: “The original financial assessment process was out-sourced and when we brought it back in-house, we immediately saw the problems and we acted upon it immediately.”

But that apology did not ease concerns.

A spokesman for Warrior Carers said: “This is a growing crisis, which will deepen with rising inflation and increased energy costs and the council needs to recognise this and act now to support and protect disabled people in the county, not harm them further by ever-increasing charges and cuts to their services.”

Warrior Carers Sussex can be found on both Twitter and Facebook.