Victoria LeggettA day centre supporting adults with learning difficulties in Norfolk has become a casualty of a move towards personalised budgets.Break, the charity behind the DayBreak centre, said the service would end in September following the end of its current contract with Norfolk County Council.Victoria Leggett

A day centre supporting adults with learning difficulties in Norfolk has become a casualty of a move towards personalised budgets.

Break, the charity behind the DayBreak centre, said the service would end in September following the end of its current contract with Norfolk County Council.

In the past Break has received a lump sum in funding from the authority to run the DayBreak service in Sheringham and has cluster groups across north Norfolk.

But the national personalisation agenda now gives individuals control over their own budgets and the type of care they receive - removing that direct county council funding for the day centre.

Break said traditional day services, like DayBreak, were not flexible enough to meet people's specific needs and convince them to use their individual payments at the centre.

It had therefore decided ending the service would be the best option - meaning taking it away from 50 adults with learning difficulties who currently use it, as well as putting the jobs of staff working in the centres at risk of redundancy.

In recent months day centre workers across the county have reacted angrily to the council's decision to withdraw funding and switch to individual payments.

But Don Evans, Break's director of corporate services, said: 'It's bitter sweet for us. It is disappointing because this is a service we have run for a long time. But we are absolutely 100pc behind our service users being empowered to influence the service provided for them.'