Mum slams Aberdeenshire Council after disabled teenage daughter's day centre transport axed

A mother has said her disabled teenage daughter has been left “cut off from everything” after Aberdeenshire Council removed essential transport to her day centre.

Lily Angus, who has Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy, had her transport to Inverurie Day Centre removed amid reductions to services for adults with learning disabilities in Aberdeenshire.

Her mother, Donna, does not drive, and says there is no realistic way for her to get her 18-year-old daughter to the centre, which stores Lily’s walker and stander.

“It is where she has her specialist equipment, a walker and stander that can’t be stored at home, and a familiar routine, friendships, stimulation and happiness,” Donna told STV News.

“There is no direct bus route from Westhill to Inverurie, and my husband works full-time.

“Since transport was removed, Lily has been forced to stay at home, cut off from everything that gives her life meaning. Watching her world shrink has been utterly heartbreaking and there is no end to it.”

“The council’s decision has left me completely stuck. There is absolutely nothing I can do on my own to fix this for Lily. I feel abandoned and terrified for her future.”

Inverurie Day Centre. © Google Maps 2026

‘Systematic failure’

The situation comes amid wider reductions to services for adults with learning disabilities in Aberdeenshire.

Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) announced drastic plans to save around £20m back in February 2025.

Day centres will remain open, but fewer people will be eligible to attend, and social care transport is to be cut almost entirely.

The AHSCP board said services would not be removed until alternative provision was found, but families like Donna’s say they have been left facing uncertainty.

“I’m completely broken and devastated by Aberdeenshire Council’s decision to stop transport for my daughter,” Donna said.

Lily and her family. Donna Angus via Supplied

“This decision has pushed me to absolute breaking point, and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore.

“The emotional strain is relentless. I’m exhausted, overwhelmed, and heartbroken watching my child suffer through no fault of her own. I have reached the point where I genuinely don’t know how much more I can cope with.”

Donna described the cuts as a systemic failure, and has slammed the lack of communication from Aberdeenshire Council.

“Lily is not alone. Aberdeenshire Council’s reckless decision has devastated families across the area.

“I spent the first week we were trapped sending emails to the council and anyone that could maybe help. Aberdeenshire Council have yet to reply. They haven’t even acknowledged my email.

“Nothing has changed since Lily left school; but somehow she left school and the life that Lily had has been stripped away. The Council turning their back on the most vulnerable people, the damage they have done, it has to be fixed.

“Lily deserves a social life away from her family. No family should ever be pushed to breaking point.

“Taking that support away has driven us into an emergency situation that we need help to get out of. It feels as though the council has completely disregarded her existence and placed no value on her life at all.”

The Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership said it couldn’t comment on “individual cases,” but would work with the families affected by the cuts.

A spokesperson said: “The Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board took the difficult decision to remove social care transport provision as a budget saving measure.

“We understand that this has proved challenging for some and we will continue to work with those affected and their families to support them to find solutions”