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First Wessex
First Wessex highlights its concern over cuts
10th December 2010First Wessex is backing the National Housing Federation campaign on supported housing to highlight that the potential cuts in funding could hit over 10,000 vulnerable people in Hampshire, including Southampton and Portsmouth.
In support of South East Supported Housing Month which ends today, First Wessex yesterday hosted an event at its Winchester- based Milford House. Milford House provides vital supported accommodation for 20 single homeless people (aged 16-65) and has an additional 15 move-on self contained flats at its sister site Gordon Watson House.
Special guest of honour, the right worshipful Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Richard Izard was there to meet past and present residents. The event was aimed to give key local decision makers, such as councillors and MPs, an opportunity to find out more about how housing associations and other providers are helping vulnerable people live independent lives.
Milford House in Winchester is owned and managed by First Wessex. Louise Cumberland, Head of Care and Support explains:
“Milford House has provided a vital service to Winchester and surrounding areas for over ten years. We are worried about the cuts in services and what this could mean to the supported housing services we provide. If 40% cuts are adopted by local authorities in the South East, the number of people who would lose crucial services would be as high as 10,240 in Hampshire.
The Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Richard Izard who presented a Christmas hamper of goodies to the residents and had the opportunity to tour the facility, learnt first-hand the opportunities that such a home has given to many vulnerable people. He said:
“I was delighted to be invited to such an event at this special time of year. We are fortunate in Winchester to have such a splendid facility and I was most impressed at the work of First Wessex. The residents gave me real insight into the problems of homelessness. I hope that the funding will continue to be given to this very vital cause.”
Raife West, Chair of the National Housing Federation’s South East Supported Housing Regional interest Group commented: “South East Supported Housing Month is an excellent opportunity for providers to join forces in the region and highlight the contribution supported housing and support services make. With the removal of the ring fence around Supporting People funding, it is vitally important that commissioners, MPs, stakeholders and councillors are fully aware of the contribution that the sector is making in supporting and improving the lives of so many individuals in communities throughout the region.”
The National Housing Federation is warning that although the government is giving reassurances that services for vulnerable people will be relatively well protected with real terms cuts restricted to 12%, many of these services are non statutory and so the local authority is not obliged to provide them if they consider that there are greater priorities. That means that, as local authorities are being forced to make challenging decisions on budgets generally, there could be a much greater impact on Supporting People services and other discretionary areas of spending. Many local authorities are looking at cuts of 40% and over. The Federation, which represents England’s housing associations, warns that around 57,000 vulnerable people in the South East alone could see services they depend upon axed.
The National Housing Federation is concerned that the long-term financial costs would also outweigh the short-term savings from cutting back on services – with demands on the NHS, police forces and the courts surge as a result of the reductions. It said that investment in preventative support through housing associations leads to better outcomes for service-users and their families, as well as savings to health and social services budgets, through the avoidance of hospital admissions and reduced numbers of children being taken into care.
A national evaluation has estimated that the £1.6bn spent annually on housing-related support through the Supporting People programme generates savings of £3.41bn to the public purse – by intervening earlier to prevent more severe problems arising, helping people live more independently by supporting them in their communities, and avoiding more costly acute services.
Ends
To arrange interviews please contact Peter Jones, National Housing Federation Communications Officer (South) on 0117 9529913 / 07771 552090
Email: peterj@housing.org.uk
Or to find out more about the work of Milford House and First Wessex please contact
Ursula Tavender, PR and Communications Executive, First Wessex on
02392 896759/07776 226598
Email: Ursula.tavender@firstwessex.org
For further information please contact:
