WHEN people reach their twilight years they should reasonably expect the State to contribute to their lives in the same way that individuals themselves have contributed to the community.

Increasingly, however, the State instead is turning its back on the elderly. The latest move comes as Bolton's Social Services' committee voted to cut by £140,000 the amount of support they give to private homes for the elderly.

Now, angry local homes' owners say this means that some of them will not be able to carry on in business. And that they will not be able to offer the same level of service to those who have been referred by Social Services as to those who pay privately.

We are talking here about the most frail and vulnerable in society, and an established standard of vital care. Good housekeeping may demand that cuts have to be made in some of the town's services, but when this kind of caring service is hit, it may not only tip the balance of a home's business but also the tenuous grip that some residents have on life.

An item of good news for local elderly people in this package of cuts is that controversial changes to some of the borough's high dependency units have been withdrawn. There will now still be 24-hour staff cover, and more jobs to increase home care and other services.

We can only hope that Social Services will think again about cutting cash support for private homes, and show that pledges of care from the cradle to the grave are backed by realistic funding.

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