Meet Keith - the autistic man described by the council as 'too complex' for care in Milton Keynes

Slightly-built Keith Ridley also has learning difficulties and epilepsy. He is non-verbal and has been going to council-run day care at Bradville’s Mathiesen Centre and Neath Hill’s Tower Drive Day Centre for many years.

Because Keith is such a disruptive sleeper, his parents Paul and Sarah were also given overnight respite care once a week.

“It’s always worked well. There was disruption during the Covid pandemic, but we were looking forward to getting back into the routine which has worked so well for 10 years ,” said Pul, who also has a daughter with Asperger’s Syndrome.

But this month Milton Keynes Council dropped the bombshell that care for Keith would cease completely.

“They said his needs are too complex. We don’t agree with that. He gets upset and bangs his head against doors or windows when his routine is changed but he’s not violent or aggressive,” said his dad.

“When he wants attention, he can sometimes grab at people’s shirts. Is that really something they can’t deal with?

"We don’t understand why the council is saying these specialist centres can’t cope any longer. Surely that’s what they’re trained to do and have been doing for all these years?”

Paul fears it could be a “sour grapes” move because he took them to the Local Government Ombudsman during lockdown, accusing them of making false promises.

The Ombudsman found MK Council at fault for telling the Ridleys it would be able to reinstate Keith’s pre-Covid-19 respite care when it was not possible.

Paul said the day care stopped abruptly at the start of lockdown, causing a “nightmare” of depression and weight loss for Keith, whose weight plunged to seven and a half stone.

The council apologised after the case and the family thought they could move on.

"Now we’ve been left with nothing. Literally nothing. The council says it will try to look for somewhere else but we have no idea how long that will take or whether they will be able to find somewhere,” said Paul.

"In the meantime, my wife and I, both in our 50s, are expected to cope full-time, without a break.”

Keith needs 1:1 support indoors and 2:1 support when accessing the community. He can be awake all night and Paul and Sarah take it in turns to stay up to supervise him at their Wolverton home.

"It’s hard. He’s our son and we’ve always said we’ll care for him at home for as long as we are able – providing we have some respite,” said Paul.

"Lockdown was hell. We managed somehow. But now we have a future without any care for Keith and any respite for us. We don’t know what to do,” he said.

An MK Council spokesman said: “We always aim to put a person’s individual needs first. Our dedicated social care team is rated ‘outstanding’ by the care regulator and every day helps many local people with highly complex needs.

“On extremely rare occasions, the needs of someone we care for go beyond what we can safely provide. Specialist care becomes essential for that person’s own safety, and for the safety of others."