SOMERSET County Council is withdrawing £1.2m from sheltered housing organisations.

It says the money will be diverted to support a greater number of vulnerable people, helping them connect with their families and community.

Somerset County Council currently contributes £1.2m towards sheltered housing schemes across the county, with the money going towards people with the highest need.

But that will change in the autumn as the council withdraws the funding, with housing associations and providers in the voluntary sector making up the difference.

Sheltered housing consists of two elements:

  • Designated accommodation, which is provided by a landlord and which the tenant pays for through rent and service charges.
  • Support services, which includes regular welfare checks and help to make contact with the local community.

Somerset is one of only six county councils in England which still contributes money directly to sheltered housing support services, according to one of its officers.

Around 3,500 sheltered housing tenants are currently supported in Somerset, with the majority having their needs met through the services laid on by the housing provider.

The council’s current contribution of £1.2m is targeted to around “370 to 380” individuals who were “identified as having high-level needs”.

Strategic commissioning manager Steve Veevers said the council’s current support contracts would end on October 15.

Rather than continuing the service beyond this date, the money will be reinvested in Community Connect, which brings together social care providers, health service representatives and community organisations.

Mr Veevers spoke about the changes at a meeting of the council’s adults and health scrutiny committee, which took place in Taunton on Wednesday morning (June 6).

He said the changes would allow 120,000 people aged 65 and over the chance to access the same services as those currently enjoyed by people living in sheltered housing.

He added that £1.2m was “a small proportion” of the £7m currently associated with sheltered housing, and that people who currently lived in such accommodation “would not see a noticeable change."

He said: “There is no proposal to change the designation of sheltered housing – people will not be forced to move, and they will still get a level of service, including a call-bell system. Those infrastructures will not change.”

Mr Veevers said that two sheltered housing providers – Aster Housing and The Guinness Trust – were already changing their service model so that they didn’t have to rely on the council’s contribution.

He claimed that the Guinness Trust was reducing the number of contact hours, while Aster Housing was raising its service charges by 60p to 70p per week to maintain the service level – an increase would could be covered by housing benefit for people on low incomes.

Vicky Chipchase, the council’s senior commissioning officer, said in her report: “Most providers already charge tenants and some have indicated that a small top-up to that charge would enable them to continue to deliver a similar service across their schemes.”

The Community Connect service puts people in touch with voluntary organisations who can provide solutions tailored to their problems – for instance, setting up Skype communications for elderly people whose residents have moved away from the area.

This, the council believes, reduces the pressure on statutory services, improves people’s sense of independence, and provides help which is specific to them rather than one-size-fits-all.

Mr Veevers added: “Community connect as a model is potentially more effective than our traditional models.

“This is being needs-led – we’re looking at the demand across Somerset, and see how much we need to put into Community Connect.”

A public consultation on the changes was held between April 3 and May 30, with 38 per cent of those asked expressing support for the proposals against 23 per cent who did not (25 per cent were undecided and 14 per cent did not respond to the consultation).

Councillor Leigh Redman raised concerns about possible reductions in the amount of contact residents would have with welfare workers.

He said: “My concern is when you start off with five visits a week, and end up with one or two.

“It’s the softer things that end up helping people, those interactions, which do a lot. This is demand-led, there’s no concept as to how needs will be met.

“What happens when three days have gone by and no-one’s been to check on people because nothing’s scheduled?”

Mr Veevers responded: “We are picking up those who are high need – it may lead to a formal social care intervention, but some people may need something different. We will make sure that we pick up everyone who has those needs.”

Ms Chipchase added that she would encourage sheltered housing providers to make better use of the communal areas in their sites, to make sure vulnerable people had more regular social contact.

The committee voted to approve proposals to end the current support contract in October and to reinvest “sufficient” money into Community Connect from March 2019.