A charity for disabled people has been forced to close its cafe, stop activity classes and axe staff amid funding cuts.
The closures at Sutton Centre for Independent Living and Learning (SCILL) have come as the recession bites and changes in social care take place.
The announcement has upset service users - many of whom rely on the activities and classes run by the charity at its centre in Robin Hood Lane.
SCILL has written to 50 people affected, informing them of the closures which will take place on March 14, 2014.
The charity is seen as a lifeline for the disabled in Sutton, helping them gain independence through a range of services. Currently SCILL provides everything from cookery classes to arts and crafts for people with a variety of disabilities.
A service user, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I just think it is awful - so many people rely on it. It’s really important to disabled people - for some of them it is the only place they can go out to.
"I think at least eight people will be losing their jobs. They do a great job - they are absolutely brilliant."
Sutton Council had a "block contract" to provide activities and classes for 30 people but due to changes in social care, funds are being moved into the hands of individuals who use the services so they can choose what they want to do.
Other customers, who paid for activities when they turned up, did not generate enough income to make them sustainable in their current form but SCILL is looking at how they can offer activities differently from April 2014 onwards.
The charity’s Sherwood cafe was intended to be a self-sustaining business and has been subsidised by the council for five years, but due to the financial climate and its location, SCILL was unable to make it economically viable and decided to close it.
SCILL will continue their other works including an information and advice service, a gym, health advice and a footcare service.
A spokesperson for SCILL would not disclose how many people were being made redundant but said: "Both our services are brilliant - we are genuinely sad they are closing and we have enjoyed running them.
"It is a big part of SCILL that is going for us but we have got to look forward and see what we can do in the near future."
The charity has a new ‘Activities on the Road’ service which will open at Christ Church with St Philip, in Worcester Park, on Thursday, November 14, 10am-12pm. The event is in partnership with Sutton Vision and Christ Church with St Philip.
Jonathan Pritchard
Opposition councillor, Jonathan Pritchard, said: "We are appalled to learn of the council’s short-sighted decision to withdraw funding for the much-valued café at SCILL.
"This is a key hub for the borough, used by many residents and provides a number of service users with essential life skills and work experience. The staff redundancies that will result from this arbitrary decision by the LibDem council will bring further misery for many. We are also concerned about the knock-on effect this will inevitably have to other services and activities provided by SCILL."
Colin Stears
Councillor Colin Stears, chairman of the adult social services and health committee, said SCILL made its own decisions about how it operates in the future.
He added: "All local authorities have been asked to change the way funding is organised. The old model of paying for everything in a lump-sum, called a block grant, is being replaced with personal budgets and direct payments to users.
"This means they now have much greater - and independent - choice about what services they can use."
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