Vulnerable will be hit by cost cutting

Young mothers, the homeless and Asian women with mental health problems will be hit by proposed cuts to Oldham Council’s services for vulnerable people.

The Supporting People department needs to make £250,000 savings, on top of efficiency savings for this year of £120,000, which rise to £532,000 next year.

So far that has been done by getting rid of ineffective services, reworking existing schemes and negotiating lower contract prices with current providers.

But these options have been exhausted and a report to councillors says: “The only option if this (£250,000) shortfall is to be met is through closure of strategically relevant support services.”

They will mean the axe will fall on the two projects run by the charity Threshold, resettlement schemes for single homeless men and women, and shared houses operated by Turning Point, the charity for drug and alcohol misusers.

Also facing cuts are Zinda Dil, the housing project for Asian woman with mental health problems, and the teenage parents’ service, also run by Threshold.

Jenny Taylor, director of the Oldham Family Crisis Group which runs the Zinda Dil project, said although it will not continue as a residential project, clients will be housed by other agencies and clients can access the outreach service. Talks are still going on with providers such as Threshold to bring in services to match the council’s budget, she added, and also with the primary care trust, NHS Oldham, to make sure Zinda Dil is fully supported.

Councillor Jackie Stanton, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “The council has had to look at all areas where efficiency savings can be made — including the Supporting People budget.

“These proposals are subject to consultation with those service users who are potentially affected and no final decisions have yet been made. Following this a report will go to Cabinet in due course.”