A county councillor has slammed the government for not taking action on funding adult social care after it was announced that Surrey’s four remaining Alzheimer Society day centres are to close.

The charity, which has four day centres in Byfleet, Haslemere and Bletchingly, blamed the closures on lack of funding and declining attendance.

Jacqui Parfitt, the Alzheimer’s Society operations manager for Surrey, said the Byfleet and Haslemere centres will shut their doors on March 31, with the Bletchingly day centres to close on June 23.

She said that despite working with Surrey County Council and borough councils to promote the day centres’ services and to “address any barriers there may be for referrals”, the charity had seen a “steady decline” in the number of people attending the centres over the past 18 months.

She added that the “consistently low attendance” has meant that the charity is unable to cover the costs associated with running the centres.

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But Fiona White, county councillor for Guildford West, slammed the lack of funding channelled into adult social care in Surrey, saying the council has slashed approximately £190m from its care budget over the past six years.

She added that cuts to people’s personal budgets – the amount the council contributes to someone’s care – was a factor in the lack of attendance at the centres.

She said: “I was particularly struck by the reference they made to the personal budget and people not having the money to travel to the centres.

“I’m really worried about how social care is being cut back in Surrey. The administration will tell you they’re delivering it in a different way but that’s another way of saying ‘cuts’.

“Surrey County Council are adapting strict criteria for people to qualify for personal budgets and looking at other existing personal budgets to make cuts.

“This is an absolute tragedy, people don’t ask to be born with learning or physical disabilities or even mental health issues. Getting older is something that happens to everyone. No one has chosen to be in that situation.

“There’s no logic, there’s no sense. It really is time for the government to stop playing about.

“Social care is needed up and down the country; it shouldn’t be a postcode lottery depending on where you live, especially as Surrey County Council is one of the richest.”

Councillor White stressed that people caring for family members with the disease “needed a break” from their “incredibly stressful” days, and that the centres offered that time to them.

She said she had been lobbying and questioning the council until she has been “blue in the face” on the issue.

A council spokesman said they are finding an alternative for the centres.

Users of the day centres have been given three months’ notice to find other service providers in the area and there would be an information day where people can discuss their options with other providers.

Ms Parfitt said: “There is no question that our dedicated staff and volunteers across all our day centres have provided a wonderful service for many years and we will do our best to support them along with our service users during this difficult time.”