CONSERVATIVE councillors forced South Lanarkshire’s SNP administration to abandon its plans to scrap adult day care services.

Both the Jenny Maclachlan and Carluke Lifestyles support services were set to be axed as part of the council’s 2018/19 budget, but the county’s nationalist leadership had to back down after it became clear their plans faced defeat.

Previous warnings from the Conservative Group that the proposals would hurt vulnerable residents had seemed to be brushed off by the minority SNP administration.

Their plans to cut the facilities were finally dropped when the Tory delegation made clear its councillors would not compromise on the centres’ future, and would vote down the closures.

A letter was then issued on behalf of the council leader, which stated they would ‘pause’ any decisions regarding the centres.

Councillor Richard Nelson, the business manager for the opposition Conservatives, welcomed the U-turn.

He explained: “We have consistently made clear that the Jenny Maclachlan Centre and Carluke Lifestyles are vital facilities that must not be removed.

“Of course we are glad the SNP administration has finally
recognised it will not be allowed to shut them, but it is unfortunate they refused to listen for so long.

“The council’s leadership should never have brought these proposals forward. Doing so caused real distress in our communities, which could have been avoided if the administration had listened to reason.

“It is regrettable that the nationalists waited until the last minute and only gave up their plans when it became clear we would vote them down.”

The Jenny Maclachlan Centre provides 12 places per day, six days per week to people with Dementia. It also provides places one day each week for people experiencing mental health conditions.

Carluke Lifestyles includes facilities for social work day-care users which are available for community use. These include arts and crafts space, cinema room and quiet room.