Ray Blunden spent years serving his country in the Royal Marines.

His wife Julie has equally dedicated her working life to being a public servant – first as a nurse at Sutton’s St Helier Hospital, then in local government.

So when they reached retirement age their plan had been to enjoy some well earned adventure and relaxation, going travelling in a caravan, but Alzheimer’s disease had other plans.

That cruel blow was unavoidable, Ray being another victim to the devastating disease that causes dementia.

Julie and Ray had plans to travel the world after retirement, but Ray's diagnosis forced them to reconsider.

But the latest cruel blow they are facing is from Sutton Council, which plans to hike adult social care charges to help plug an ever growing hole in its finances, as Government support has vanished while the costs of providing that care are spiralling.

For Julie, 64, and Ray, 72, it will mean around £300 a month more being taken out of their pockets as they try to navigate their new normal, with Julie caring for Ray full-time.

Julie told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We wouldn’t be able to find the extra £300 a month.

"At the moment we haven’t got the heating on, we usually have it on for a couple of hours throughout the day when it gets really cold.

“Before I wouldn’t have worried about having radiators all around the house, now we tend to try and reduce things. When you get to the level where you’re teetering on the edge of poverty because you’re counting your electric, gas and food, where else do you get the money from?

“The only thing else I can think to cut is that I’m taking driving lessons. Ray used to be the driver and I can’t walk very far.”

The couple both currently receive disability benefits, as Julie herself suffers from arthritis across her body and cannot walk for long periods of time.

The council is proposing three separate elements to its cost cutting plan.

They involve charging for assistive technology, which is currently free as part for care packages; including the full amount of someone’s disability benefit when deciding how much they should pay for their care where currently the most vulnerable have only part of their enhanced rate factored in; and paying for an appointee – someone who helps organise benefits for those with Alzheimer’s or who is bed-bound – which is currently provided free.

The level of impact the proposals will have will wildly differ depending on the care package and benefits someone currently receives. For Julie and Ray it works out at about £300 a month extra they would have to pay.

Despite the consultation being launched on July 29, Julie told the LDRS that she only learned of the proposals late into the consultation, by which time Sutton had already chosen to extend the deadline due to the significance of the decision.

Julie said: “I didn’t initially realise they were going to affect us. A lot of [people] will get these consultations and think it’s just another council letter and put it in the bin.

“I’m not so intimidated by the law because I actually studied it, other people are though. I think there are a lot of people in Sutton who don’t know about this but they should.”

In practice, she said these changes would now charge her extra for Ray’s visits to the day centre throughout the week, which she says is a vital form of respite for her.

Julie said the proposals feel like an insult to her and her husband after ‘lives of paying into the system’. Not only are they ‘legally wrong’, she says, ‘but they are also morally wrong’.

She added: “The Care Act says that local authorities should be mindful that its policies do not unlawfully discriminate inadvertently or otherwise by having a disproportionate, detrimental impact on severely disabled people.

"If you are solely targeting people with enhanced disability, that’s exactly what you’re doing, isn’t it? It makes the Winter Fuel Allowance cut look positively benevolent.”

While the council has put measures in place to protect individuals with less savings and those at higher medical risk from being affected, Julie believes there will be many others in her position who will be pushed towards poverty because of this.

Another part of the problem, according to Julie, is that most people won’t know that they stand to be affected by these proposals because much of it is so technical and confusing.

While the consultation has gone on for several months now, there will still be many people who would not have any knowledge of it, she says.

Julie spoke of an elderly neighbour who is bedbound and does not have the mental capacity to understand these charges. She now fears people like her, who rely on an appointee, will be negatively impacted.

Before leaving our meeting to take Ray home, Julie told the LDRS of the toll being a carer has had on her life. She said: “I took early retirement. We got a caravan and were going to do some travelling.

“Ray was in the Marines for a long time and I also like writing and was hoping to get some writing published when I had the time. Then this hit us. This isn’t how I envisaged our retirement. I’ve worked all my life, sometimes holding down two or more jobs. I used to work as a nurse in St Helier Hospital which I then took over to local government.

“I used to go into people’s homes and provide care, and I saw the struggle they had and the tough decisions they had to make. Now I’m in the position I didn’t want to be in, when you start to think about heating and food.”

A spokesperson for Sutton Council said: “Demand and costs for adult social care have significantly increased while funding has not. With the continued lack of funding from the government, Sutton Council, along with most local authorities, has no choice but to review the services it provides and how it charges for them in order to protect the most vulnerable.

“The council is carrying out a 13-week consultation on changes it could make to its adult social care charging policy.

"The consultation was publicised through a wide range of channels and the council worked with voluntary sector organisations to set up focus groups and reach as many affected residents as possible.

“The council has listened to the views of more than 300 residents and has responded by extending the consultation, providing more information and holding additional events. Residents are encouraged to share their views by October 27.”