Sir – I would like to draw people’s attention to the scandalous hike in fees which Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to pass on to elderly and disabled people who use its day centres.

At Witney's The Elms Centre, in Moorland Road, service users will be subject to a staggering price hike of 1,053 per cent if the council has its way.

The current daily charge of £1.30 is set to increase to £15 and to add insult to injury the cost of transport is also increasing from £1 to £5. I visited the centre recently and met users and staff from the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity, which runs the service.

It was clear that many people feel they won’t be able to visit the centre and access the support it offers if these horrendous charges go ahead.

The Elms provides support to mainly elderly residents and also offers impressive specialist support for dementia sufferers too. Our MP often talks about the Big Society, well isn’t this it?

It says much about our society if we now ask our elderly residents, who have contributed so much to our country, to dig even deeper into their pockets for essential services that they not only desperately need but also enjoy.

Andrew Coles (Cllr), Labour — Witney Central ward, West Oxfordshire District Council