Under-threat Staffordshire pendant alarm scheme saved by district council

Staffordshire County Council decided to slash £6m from the Supporting People Grant, despite huge criticism.

The fund, which was created in 2003, is used to provide housing-based support to various groups, including those with mental health problems, and provides social alarms for the elderly.

Bosses at Cannock Chase Council have called the decision 'disgusting' and have criticised the county council for failing to carry out a public consultation on the move.

But Cannock Chase Council has now decided to fund the social alarms scheme for the elderly in their homes at a cost of £107,000. It will, however, only be provided to the 'most vulnerable' people.

Cannock Chase currently gets £214,000 from the county council each year to fund the scheme so it is free for more than 2,000 users, but will no longer get that sum.

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At a district council cabinet meeting, leader George Adamson described the cuts as 'shocking'.

He said: "All the county council want to do is cut funding. They are not interested in the knock-on effects. This is putting people at risk."

Councillor Muriel Davis, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, added: "This is a very serious issue. Staffordshire County Council has taken this decision in order to save £4m this year and £2m next year.

"No public consultation has been undertaken.

"It does not seem right that the county council makes decisions to cut budgets only for other councils to pick up the pieces. They have dealt with this badly.

"They have consulted on libraries and youth clubs but not this."

Councillor Davis continued: "They are removing the grant funding for social alarms. A lot of vulnerable people will be affected by this.

"We need to protect services for the most vulnerable."

The district council launched an 11th hour bid last Tuesday to stop the cuts being made to the Supporting People Grant but the request to 'call in' and further debate the matter was to no avail.

Councillor Alan White, the county council's cabinet member for care, said the move did not mean the authority was no longer supporting its residents.

He said: "It is important that we invest what resources we have in the most co-ordinated, targeted and effective way to help more people lead independent lives and crucially protect the most vulnerable."