Threat to Twickenham Day centre

1.27.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 3rd Aug 2004

Local pensioners who attend Twickenham Day Centre have been told by council officials that, unless they are wheel chair bound, and highly dependent, they will have to leave. There is considerable anxiety that this will break up friendships and isolate many individuals for whom the centre is a lifeline.

Vincent Cable has written to the head of social services at Richmond Council asking for an explanation. He said that he had "encountered distress amongst those told that they were no longer wanted. One elderly lady who is deeply attached to the centre was told that she should go to Barnes at the other end of the borough if she wanted a day centre".

"Some of these pensioners will be refugees twice over. Some were moved from Whitton day centre, which has never really recovered from the break up of friendships when the council split the clientele there; and now they are being asked to move again. the whole question seems to be managed in a very insensitive way".