ASSESSMENTS to determine whether residents are eligible to use council transport to day centres in Blaenau Gwent should be scrapped, councillors have said, despite claims the new policy has been broadly welcomed.

Eligibility assessments for residents who use assisted transport were introduced by the council in 2018, in a move aimed at creating a “more sustainable” and fairer system.

Previously, residents who used the council’s Community Options programme would automatically be entitled to free transport.

Since the new policy was introduced, 87 residents no longer use the council’s assisted transport, with a further 16 set to find alternative arrangements from this month.

Eighty-six of these residents still use the council’s day centres though, travelling by a variety of methods including using their own vehicles, using a taxi or accessing transport by their care provider.

And a further 24 residents have been assessed as eligible for free transport, these being mainly older people and those with dementia.

Those deemed ineligible for free transport, but have been assessed as having exceptional circumstances, can continue using the service for a charge.

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The council’s head of adult services Alyson Hoskins, told Blaenau Gwent council’s social services scrutiny committee on Monday that the change had received “positive feedback from a lot of people.”

“This is very much about making a sustainable model going forward, not cutting to the bone so that we can’t take on additional users,” Ms Hoskins said.

But Cllr Steve Thomas, chairman of the committee, raised concern the further roll out of the policy could impact on numbers accessing council services in the future.

“The concern is members feel you are almost penalising some of the most vulnerable members of the community for a £116,000 saving,” he said.

Cllr Julie Holt said she supported the new set up if it meant creating a sustainable service.

“The most important thing is that these people have access to this provision, so we have to make it sustainable,” she said.

“It’s not ideal, we would like to give everything free, but I think the most important thing is we maintain the provision.”

But an alternative option – put forward by Councillor Tim Sharrem – which called to reverse the eligibility assessments was backed by the committee.

“This has always been a caring council and we should always strive to support our residents, especially the vulnerable ones in our community,” Cllr Sharrem said.

“We are in an improved financial position at this time, so I do not think we should be looking to cut essential services.”

The council’s executive committee will now consider the alternative option put forward, along with the choice of carrying on with the existing set up, at a meeting later this month.