Around 8,000 people will be affected by an increase to the cost of Adult Care Services (ACS), as part of a council attempt to cope with “financial pressures”. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has put forward the changes, which are likely to come into effect in April, following a three-month consultation last year.

It comes as part of a cost-cutting drive, with the council explaining how it has been faced with some “tough choices”.

The financial impact will be judged on an individual basis, though those behind the move have assured beneficiaries that no-one will pay more than they can afford.

But Colette Wyatt-Lowe, executive member for adult care and health at HCC, admitted that the decision is bound to “impact some residents adversely”.

She said: “We have arrived at this junction with a lot of heart searching as we realise that this may make life difficult for some residents for whom life is difficult already.

“We do not take this change in policy lightly and will be working hard to ensure that we are sensitive and helpful as the changes are made.”

HCC reached out to all who could suffer as a result of the alterations and received more than 2,000 responses.

It explained how it has taken these views into account and has made changes to the proposals accordingly, with the new suggestions set to be put before Cabinet on February 19.

And Ms Wyatt-Lowe promised to offer as much support as possible to those who rely on these services but will seriously struggle to make ends meet.

“For those people using a service who have real difficulty with regards to the new charges, we will be offering a new financial assessment and we will help them to ensure they are getting every means of financial support available to them, as well as signposting to other services to ensure affordability,” she said.

The initial decision came about following the need to save money combined with the desire to protect vital services.

Ms Wyatt-Lowe added: “We have a responsibility to ensure that we are helping those people who need our support the most, so we think the fairest way to do this is to ask those who can afford it to pay a little more for the services they receive.

“Every person eligible for a service will be financially assessed to establish their ability to pay, and no-one will be asked to pay more than they can afford.

“We understand that changes can be unsettling, but would like to reassure service users, families and carers that any approach adopted will continue to provide local, high-quality services to all those people who need our support.”