Even though events in February suggested that we had been successful in our attempts to #SaveWILG, I am still struggling to live a comfortable, independent life.

The problem is that Wrexham County Borough Council are simply incompetent, and failing in their duty of care towards me. This has recently been highlighted by the fact that I have run out of money in my Direct Payments/WILG account.

This is hardly surprising as I have been forced to use the funding I receive for 86.5 hours of support per week on 24/7 support instead. This is due to the fact that I live with a progressive, genetic disease of the nervous system. I have always known that this condition will deteriorate, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that I am need of extra support. This is not something that I am choosing, rather something that I categorically need.

I struggled to pay my staff their well-deserved wages earlier this month. This was due to a £2,200 bill from HMRC, which was unexpected and was a bombshell to my financial affairs that I could not recover from. WCBC agreed to pay an emergency payment, but this did not arrive in my account until eight days later. In the meantime, I had to borrow money from family members to ensure that my staff were paid on time. I do not like having to borrow money, but I had no option. This was both embarrassing and stressful.

I have since been told that senior  management have refused to sanction any further emergency payments, which is obviously very stressful for my staff and myself. I am supposed to be having an independent reassessment soon. This cannot come quickly enough, and is really a matter of urgency as I do not have any confidence that WCBC will resolve this issue.

I informed WCBC back in October/November 2018 that my condition had deteriorated to such an extent that I would need 24/7 support. This was met with scoffing and I was told that no one in Wrexham receives such a care package. This is why I have not been in contact with anyone from WCBC who have failed to provide me with the support that I need to live independently. It is clear that WCBC have failed in their duty of care to myself, and in all probability, many others.

I feel that WCBC have put me under physical and mental stress by denying me the freedom to live the life that I choose. If I did not need support 24/7 I would not ask for it.

I think it likely that the threatened refusal to make a second emergency payment breaks the law. The Code for Part 4 does not limit emergency payments to a single occasion: Para 158 states very plainly that local authorities must be prepared to make emergency payments when they are needed. Welsh Government civil servants have alluded to this in emails when I have been warned that I  “need to watch closely and alert the council if this situation looks like it is to occur again.” I read this to mean that I need for support is paramount and that if it looks like I will run out of funds again I should ask the authority who must ensure that I do not run out of money.

While this reassessment  process takes its time, I wonder what are they going to do to provide the basic level of care needed with regard to the next payment day (September 2nd)? WHO exactly refused the emergency payment and on what grounds? What do they think the consequence of that must be?

I have done everything in my power to show that I am not misusing Direct Payments. I am transparent in everything that I do. Pity the same can’t be said of senior management at WCBC, who are merely proving that local authorities cannot be trusted to provide social care, as #SaveWILG campaigners have been highlighting for four years.

I believe my situation will be sorted out by independent social workers, as I have little confidence in WCBC. I will keep readers up to date with this diabolical situation in the hope that it will provide guidelines to other WILG recipients.