Day care centres could have fully re-opened in Powys if the number of people wanting to use them was there, a social services chief has said.

At the Powys County Council ‘s Health and Care scrutiny committee on 16 April, councillors were given a presentation on a move towards “day opportunities” for adults with care and support needs and older people.

In March 2020 day care centres across the county, including Maesywennol in Llanidloes and Hafal Crossroads in Machynlleth were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic before being re-opened in phases from August 2022.

As calls have been made to fully re-open the centres, the service re-organisation has been seen as a move away from the day care centre based services in the county.

Last year the council started work on remodelling the provision with a potential move away from day care centres.

According to the council the new model will focus on “community inclusion, increasing independence, and supporting people to live their lives, their way.”

Head of adult social services Sharon Frewin said: “It’s worth noting that since Covid-19 we’ve seen dwindling numbers of people attending day services and people choosing to do different things.”

Social care delivery senior manager Hazel Jukes said: “Pre-Covid-19 the day centres were run five days a week with varying numbers across the county.

“Post-Covid-19 we have opened with offers to be full time in all services.

“We haven’t had the referrals to do that, so the days are set on the number of people we have had referrals for.

“We are business as usual, if we had extra referrals we would re-open the extra days.”

A report on the plans is set to go to Cabinet for decision, with any changes expected to be in place this autumn.