SERVICES for people with learning disabilities and adult home care services in Brighton and Hove are under threat as part of a £1.64 million package of council cuts.

Charges for other social services are also likely to rise to reduce budgets and senior officers are not ruling out further cuts in future to meet planned spending targets.

Local care groups and charities are calling on the council to reconsider its position.

A spokesman for the mental health charity MIND in Brighton said: "We would urge the council to think again and to consult more widely before making such decisions.

"There is not enough home care available and some in the private sector is inadequate, so instead of reducing spending, the council should be looking to increase it.

"The council is carrying out a Best Value review of social care management and it should complete that first."

A spokesman for Brighton's Crossroads charity, which works with carers, said: "Carers already find some services prohibitively expensive and this could make it harder."

The proposals Brighton and Hove Council are considering involve a range of measures to achieve cuts of £1,644,000 during the next financial year. These include:

l A review of services for people with learning disabilities.

l A reassessment of adult home care services.

l Increases in charges for social services.

l Efficiency savings.

The costs of providing foster care for youngsters are continuing to rise because of growing numbers and officials said this would put additional pressures on the budget.

Social care director Allan Bowman said meeting budget pressures would be 'very demanding' in the financial year ahead.

Chief finance officer Howard Attree said the council was likely to have to save £10 million over the next three years and social care and health was likely to bear the brunt.

The proposed cuts are being recommended for councillors to consider at a meeting tomorrow.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.