TEAMS from the Housing Service at East Devon District Council have launched a month-long series of consultation sessions in which they will ask tenants to comment on options, aimed at minimising the impact that cuts in Devon County Council (DCC) funding next year will have on over 1,300 elderly and vulnerable tenants.

The options on the table include retaining as many services as possible and either reducing the level of service or charging where previously it was free. The aim is that these tenants will still be able to live independently at home.

Twenty-one sessions will be held across East Devon over the coming four weeks and the district council is hoping that staff will be able to canvass the opinions of around 700 tenants. The sessions will be in Axminster, Broadclyst, Budleigh Salterton, Honiton, Lympstone, Musbury, Ottery St Mary, Sidmouth, Seaton and Woodbury.

Full details of places, dates and times are contained in a leaflet that has been sent to all affected tenants.

Vulnerable

The review will help East Devon’s Housing Review Board to make recommendations as to how the district council should manage services to vulnerable and elderly tenants from April next year, when the county’s cuts begin to bite.

The cuts mean a reduction of over half a million pounds in this sector in the next financial year alone.

From April 2015 Devon County Council will no longer cover the cost of the highly-rated Home Safeguard alarm service that the district council provides or the visits or calls made by EDDC’s Mobile Support Officers. Social care packages will be available only to individuals with an assessed need for social care.

EDDC’s Housing staff have been working with county colleagues to identify a number of possible ways to continue to fund the service. These may include:

• exploring the role of EDDC’s Mobile Support Officers and what tenants value most from these services

• introducing a service charge to cover the alarm system, visits and calls from a Mobile Support Officer

• a sliding scale of charges depending on the level of support expected and charging system phased in over two or more years

• exploring how Housing Benefit paid to individuals could be used to cover the cost of some of services they use

• expanding EDDC’s services to reach people who live outside of sheltered housing.

EDDC’s main aim is to ensure that those tenants who want to continue living in their own homes are able to do so. And the district council is committed to giving tenants a say in the type and implementation of any changes.

DCC has advised that the Older Persons Targeted Support Agreement will come to an end this financial year and will not be extended for 2015/16. As a result, next year East Devon’s service for elderly tenants will lose £419,000 from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and £104,750 from the Home Safeguard budget (General Fund), amounting to £523,750 in total.

Devon County Council says that is going to stop using its social care funds to contribute to the cost of the District Council’s warden services that provide a range of non-social care housing support, and instead make sure that its social care funding is used to help tenants who have social care needs.

A spokesman for the County Council says: “We are focusing our money on those who most need our help. 

“Everyone who has an eligible social care need will receive the support they require.  All tenants who need or want a social care assessment will get one and, as a result, we expect to provide direct care to even more people than we do currently once we’ve assessed tenants’ care needs.

“Sheltered housing providers are talking to tenants about how to provide any other housing related services that their tenants want, as is their responsibility.”

Respond

For several months, East Devon officers have been working with DCC to respond to needs at an individual tenant level, and are continuing to follow the agreed work plan to achieve this.

All sheltered housing tenants in East Devon were informed by letter that county cuts could have an impact on some services. They will not affect any other tenancy conditions.

Councillor Jill Elson, East Devon’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Homes and Communities, said: “I want to see these services continue and we have been exploring ways to make it happen. We value our Mobile Support Officers and the help they give our tenants in Sheltered Housing. Our tenants say they feel safer knowing someone will call.

“We are working with tenants to ensure they are receiving the benefits they are entitled to and if their needs have changed. We promised we would ensure that tenants are involved in finding solutions and the consultation sessions over the next four weeks are aimed at helping them to do just that”.