Hundreds of vulnerable people in emergency accommodation will be left without a dedicated support service under plans to scrap the city’s housing support service next month.
Brighton and Hove City Council told members of the six-strong department their jobs were at risk just before Christmas, part of a raft of cuts to departments across the authority prompted by the slashing of its central Government grant.
The GMB Union, which represents some of those set to lose their jobs, says the loss of the department will put those households at greater risk of harm, and has launched a petition calling on the council to save the service.
But the council says it has no legal obligation to provide a dedicated team, and that support will continue to be on offer from its social services and housing departments.
Mark Turner, GMB branch secretary, said: “There’s no other provision or resources for the vulnerable people they deal with in the city at all. Social services and the emergency accommodation team don’t have the capacity to pick it up, nor is that part of the details the team is being consulted on.
“This service is for people who have slipped through the net – the team advocate for people who have been left in emergency accommodation, and they’re often the ones who bring things to light for social services in the first place.
“We have got councillors talking on social media about rough sleeping, but cutting this team is going to increase that – it’s a vital service.”
A council spokesman said: “People in temporary accommodation who need support will continue to receive the support they need under our proposals.
“The housing support service, which has six staff, is just one small part of our housing department and of the overall support we offer homeless households in temporary accommodation.
“The plan to reduce the size of the service reflects a need to make best use of diminishing resources, and also to address an overlap in service provision between different council departments.
“As at other councils our adult social care and children’s services teams deliver services in this area, aimed at supporting households who need such help.
“Under our plans households needing services in this area will be directed to the support available from these teams and also to services offered by our partners in the voluntary sector.
“We are proposing to retain two posts from the housing support service to focus specifically on helping households claim the benefits they are entitled to in order to pay their rent and sustain themselves.
“Our emergency accommodation team visits each of our blocks of emergency accommodation on a monthly basis. They will also identify where people need support to manage their accommodation and then refer them to appropriate support services.
“The housing support service is one that we have no legal obligation to deliver.
“At a time of massive cuts to the funding we receive from government we have to prioritise those core services we have a legal duty to deliver.”
Surprised they aren’t just killing two birds (or vulnerable adults) with one stone and scrapping the emergency accommodation itself!
This BHCc decision is shortsighted and will create more strive for those seeking emergency help from the Housing Team.The spokesman talks as if the team was redundant and a waste of resources in the first place, but it was in fact a vital resource for the most vulnerable adult members of our society not least at this time of year.Cut councillors expenses not this worthy team supporting our struggling members of society
i have lived in windsor court in the picture iv not had 1 person come to my flat or call me you dont really get support and when do ask ques you dont get a answer been here coming up 17months now