SIR, - In response to Suzanne Neville's letter Carers betrayed" (Herts Advertiser, December 29), where do we go from here? I must stress very clearly that care in the community should not be assessed on a person's ability to pay or not to pay. We all con

SIR, - In response to Suzanne Neville's letter "Carers betrayed" (Herts Advertiser, December 29), where do we go from here? I must stress very clearly that care in the community should not be assessed on a person's ability to pay or not to pay. We all contribute through our local council tax and other taxes we pay to the Government to fund essential services. Perhaps Herts County Councillor David Lloyd does not consider that care in the community for the elderly and disabled is an essential service. The Jubilee Day Centre in St Albans is staffed by trained professional carers. The elderly and disabled clients who attend the Jubilee Centre are those who need a high level of care. It is an essential service for these clients and their carers. If carers get no respite, it will cost the county council much more for residential respite for these clients. Care for the elderly and disabled and other vulnerable people in our community should be funded from the care-in-the-community budgets which combines the Primary Care Trust and Social Services. So I would suggest to Cllr Lloyd before he considers charging these vulnerable clients for their care and day-care placements, to give some consideration to their carers and the vast amount they save the council in caring in the community. I would advise anyone who is concerned about charges to contact their MP - Anne Main for St Albans and Peter Lilley for Hitchin and Harpenden. Both can be contacted at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. ANASTASIA INSLEY, Women Against Medical Injustice (WAMI).