Surrey Tories plan to axe £2.8m from housing support to the most vulnerable in the county
Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have expressed their deep concerns over plans by the Conservative administration at County Hall to axe £2.8m from the support it gives to the most vulnerable residents to support their housing needs.
The county council has launched a consultation on the proposals which if enacted would reduce the Housing Related Support budget by 70% or £2.8m. Currently 4,477 people receive help but the county council proposes to withdraw all support from those who do not qualify for assistance under the Care Act (2014).
Cllr Angela Goodwin, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Adults & Health said today:
"Housing Related Support is a lifeline - it helps people to cope and manage in their own homes, and supports those with mental health issues or people recovering from addiction with everyday tasks such as shopping, cooking and cleaning. Furthermore, it saves money by helping people before problems start to escalate and so preventing a more expensive intervention further down the line.
"These proposed cuts would hurt some of the most vulnerable people in Surrey and so I am calling for the county council to drop these proposals. Central government clearly has the funds to help Northern Ireland to the tune of £1bn - we desperately need better funding so that we can protect these essential services for vulnerable Surrey residents".
NOTES
- A link to the consultation is here:
- A link to a question to Cabinet on this subject can be found here (page 10):