Time to speak up for the vulnerable in society

Today, The Oxford Times publishes a joint letter from a range of Oxfordshire providers concerned at the latest budget options proposed by Oxfordshire County Council. This unprecedented alliance demonstrates the strength of feeling at this latest tranche of savings being put forward by the Council in response to the ever-tightening grip on the national purse.

Our argument is not just about the impact on immediate current services and supports, but about the wider and longer-term effect on people, who rely on additional support because of their condition or situation.

People supported by Oxfordshire’s social care services and voluntary sector supports, including registered and non-registered care, will not have chosen to have their condition or illness. It may be a life-long issue from birth, or one which has crept up over a period of months or years, or a life-changing accident which makes yesterday so much different to today or tomorrow. All of these have ripples breaking on family, friends and our Oxfordshire communities. Whilst we can’t turn back the clock and cure everything, we can continue to support and enable people to live a quality life, but the funding is needed to make it happen. It could be you that is in need tomorrow.

But tomorrow is never what it’s supposed to be.