Liberal Democrat members of Bradford Council want Government help to end charges being slapped on social services.

The move follows a storm of protest and a major campaign in the district 18 months ago when the Council followed in the footsteps of other authorities and began charging for services, including day centres.

Now Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Jeanette Sunderland is writing to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott asking him to review the annual social services finance settlements to local authorities.

The settlements are based on the assumption that up to eight per cent of the budget is covered by making charges.

She has also written to the district's five Labour MPs asking them to join the bid for a better deal.

Shipley MP Chris Leslie has replied that he will pass the concerns on to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, asking whether there are plans to look at the matter.

But he has replied: "While I can understand your concern about charging policies in general, I am also aware of the need of prudent financial management in local and national government."

He says he does not consider it to be "entirely unreasonable" for the DETR to expect local authorities to self-generate a proportion of their finance.

Keighley MP Ann Cryer said: "There is a real problem. I am against charges, but if the money isn't there, it isn't there."

Chairman of the Council's social services committee, Councillor Mike Young, said today the authority always assessed whether people were able to pay and there was an appeals process.

He said the scheme was fair and the Council could not run the service unless it was paid by people who were able to.

In a letter to Mrs Cryer, he says it would be impractical to abolish the charges - however much the Council may wish it.

"The current and previous Governments have both assumed that certain amounts of income are raised through local authorities."

But Coun Sunderland said: "We want to see this unfair tax on the needy scrapped."

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