HUNDREDS of vulnerable adults could lose their care.

Calderdale Council has drawn up a plan to cut £15m of spending in 2011/12.

The Lib Dem / Labour Cabinet agreed the huge reductions on Monday.

Under the plan, Calderdale would stop providing care for people whose needs are classed as low.

The move would affect more than 700 adults from April 1.

And the banding would be reviewed again in October to make sure the April cut was “adequately containing demand pressures”.

The Cabinet has also proposed increasing the maximum weekly amount charged for home care from £150 to £200. The price of meals would increase by 10%.

Officials estimate the price hikes would bring in an extra £480,000 next year.

Other proposals include:

Saving £800,000 by reducing housing benefit subsidy.

Abolishing 10 vacant posts in the Finance Service and three in Human Resources, saving £400,000.

Scrapping the £157,000-a-year deputy chief executive post.

Saving £158,000 by cutting the budget for street light repairs and Christmas lights by 15%.

Freezing councillors’ allowances.

But the Cabinet has proposed maintaining spending on gritting.

Councillors have also pledged that all libraries and Sure Start centres will remain open.

Calderdale leader Clr Janet Battye said yesterday that the plan showed Cabinet had listened to residents.

The Lib Dem said: “During the past month more than 500 people have taken the opportunity to make their views known.

“From those comments, it was clear that people wanted to see front line services protected.

“They want to see the council doing all it can to be efficient and cut waste and working with other organisations to provide better services.

“People have also said that, while they want to see services kept affordable and fair, they are willing to accept increases in charges, if that means protecting services.”

Clr Battye added: “We have tried to reflect the priorities of our residents and we have been working with council staff to look at imaginative ways in which we can maintain services while achieving the savings that are required.”

The 2011/12 budget will be decided at a meeting of full council at Halifax Town Hall at 6pm on February 28.