Vulnerable adults are being forced from their own homes as a result of cuts to social care, as experts warn of a return to widespread institutionalisation.

Councils and the new integrated joint boards coordinating health and social care are being accused of trying to balance the books by cutting care packages and encouraging disabled and elderly people into homes, often on the pretext that a person has become too frail to continue to live in their own home.

Charities have warned that in some cases the policies amount to age or disability discrimination.

The Herald has learned of examples from around the country of decisions which appear contrary to policies encouraging independent living:

* In Glasgow, an 83 year old severely disabled woman is to be moved into a care home, after two decades of sharing her life with an adoptive family, in a move a leading supporter says could shorten her life.

* Perth and Kinross Council is considering a policy of offering a care home place to anyone whose support to live independently would cost 10 per cent more than that place.

* Argyll and Bute council has been forced to reconsider the closure of two centres providing support to people living in the community with dementia, after the local MP Brexit secretary Michael Russell intervened.

* Several other councils have increased the amount passed on in charges to social care recipients, in some cases raising their bills by hundreds of pounds a week, making it increasingly unviable for them to stay at home.

READ MORE: "Margaret was alone in the most vivid sense... a change such as this risks killing her"
New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the rate of multiple births, mostly of twins, rose to 16.1 per 1,000 women giving birth in 2015, compared with 16.0 in 2014.
In 2015, 10,901 women gave birth to twins, 169 to triplets and three to quads and above. Most twins and triplets are conceived naturally, but fertility treatment also increases the chance of a multiple birth. On average, one in 10 IVF pregnancies results in a multiple birth.
In the past, women aged 45 and over drove the rise in multiple births, due to higher levels of IVF among this age group. But, in 2015, the rise was fuelled by women aged 25 to 29.

Dr Simon Duffy, of the Centre for Welfare Reform, who was an architect of Scotland's independent living policies, said councils were slashing support people had relied upon, particularly those with disabilities, as care became more expensive. "People with physical and learning disabilities are becoming older and longstanding support is being cut as councils say - in their desperation – we will disregard any history and support you currently have, and treat you like any older person," he said.

READ MORE: Need for honesty on true cost of care

Derek Young, Senior Policy Officer at Age Scotland said the charity had received many helpline calls about similar problems, and claimed integration polices were not delivering the innovative and creative approaches which had been promised. He said. “Older people almost always want to stay in their own homes if they can, where they feel it’s safe, comfortable and familiar," he said.

"Scottish policy has long recognised that people not only feel better when supported to live at home, they also need less frequent and less intensive treatment in hospital. It would be deeply regrettable if someone is being redirected into a care home for either financial savings or bureaucratic convenience.”

John Dalrymple, of the campaigning charity In Control said "There is an age discrimination aspect to the levelling down that is going on in a lot of areas. If someone says 'you can't do this, this is illegal,' they come back with a second line of attack saying 'We've reassessed you and you are more frail now than you were.'"

Being more frail should trigger more support, he said. "But some councils don't accept that means you need more support, they say you will get less."

Mr Dalrymple added: “By and large local authorities get their way. Too many people have no-one to stand up for them."

READ MORE: "Margaret was alone in the most vivid sense... a change such as this risks killing her"

Perth and Kinross council's social work chief Bill Atkinson recently wrote to selected social care recipients outlining a new Transformation Strategy. Under this, it said anyone whose care becomes more expensive would be reassessed. "If an assessment shows that they require support to live safely in the community that will cost the equivalent of an appropriate care home placement plus 10 per cent, that person will be offered a placement in a suitable care home of their choosing," he said.

Facing a barrage of criticism over the guidelines, Perth and Kinross appears to be backing down for now. The council told the Herald "Feedback received indicated some clients thought that they might not have any choice but to take up a care home placement. This is not the case, and we have apologised for any misunderstanding."

"We will continue to work with individuals and their families to provide support which will meet their identified needs," a spokesman added.

READ MORE: Need for honesty on true cost of care

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: “When a vulnerable person’s care needs change this can require different care arrangements to be put in place."