2,000 Walsall pensioners face £150-a-year charge for community alarm

A total of 3,700 people in the borough use the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response service, which is currently provided free of charge to 2,400 people aged 80 and over.

But council bosses are reviewing the service in shake-up of social care services. They are reviewing charges for home care, day care and supported living services to take into account new legislation in the Care Act and the Children and Families Act.

The changes are expected to affect thousands of people and later this week Walsall Council's cabinet will be asked to approve the new charging system.

It includes bringing in a £2.90 a week bill for everyone using the community alarms service, irrespective of age, and over 80s will have to pay if they receive an income greater than pension credit and disability benefit.

A report produced following a public consultation showed the idea had been met with some concerns. There are fears it will lead to some elderly people having the alarms removed and they would be left vulnerable.

Walsall Council said it wants to ensure the council's charges for social care are fair and based on people's ability to pay and a three-month consultation ran from December to February.

Letters were sent to 7,500 people who could be affected by the changes and more than 1,300 people responded.

Terry Hawkins, interim assistant director of community care at the authority, said that while some people will benefit, others will lose out.

He said: "Under the new policy, there will be 57.5 per cent of people who will benefit.

"Overall losers, there will be 42.5 per cent of people."

Cabinet chiefs will be asked to approve the revised means-tested community based charging policy when they meet on Wednesday (18).

Under the proposed changes, people could also find themselves having to pay 90 per cent of their 'disposable' income towards the cost of their care if it is higher than the care bill.

Financial assessments would be calculated for each individual, with a view to bringing in the new charging system in April and the first bills issued in May.

During a recent meeting of the council's social care and health scrutiny and performance panel , Councillor Mike Bird raised concerns about assessments that would have to be carried out in a short space of time, adding: "I do not believe you have the resources to do that in the time allowed."

But Keith Skerman, the council's interim executive director of social care and inclusion, said a lot of information regarding people's circumstances had already been gathered.

Officers have also recommended a review of disabled facilities grants to readdress the charging system for equipment and adaptations needed to homes.

Walsall Council's cabinet will meet at the Council House on Wednesday at 6pm.