THE vulnerable and the voiceless of society are being hit the hardest by cuts to budgets and vital services, the chief executive of a homeless charity has claimed.

Justin Roxburgh, CEO of Taunton Association for the Homeless, said while he sympathised with Somerset County Council having to make tough savings, a cut in services for vulnerable adults could be highly detrimental.

His comments come as the county council proposes to cut £762,000 from it’s Pathways for Adults (P4A) services, a 25 per cent reduction.

The P4A comprises of a range of housing related support services, which are aimed at helping adults who would otherwise be homeless or at risk of homelessness, to establish and maintain a housing situation.

The council commissions the support element of services and is proposing that services it deems “not essential” to meet statutory responsibilities in adult social care are no longer commissioned by them.

It means that three of their contracts with outside bodies could be cut, and there have been fears that it could see an increase in the number of people at risk of homelessness, an increase in anti social behaviour and increased pressure on other services.

Mr Roxburgh said while the Taunton Association for the Homeless would continue to succeed in what it does, there would be a major impact on the services it provides.

He added: “We made a pledge to Somerset County Council to continue to provide a shell service of what we currently offer.

“We sympathise with the council and the savings it has to make but this will have a detrimental impact.

“Like all cuts, and not just these cuts, there seems to be a lack of preventative measures in system to help people, they’re left to their own devices and then when they are eventually seen they require more support which is more expensive.

“In this run of government cuts, the more vulnerable and the people without a voice are having their services cut.”

One of the proposals could see the contract which offers support and accommodation for adults with a history of offending scrapped after the current term runs out in April and two further contracts which offer support in accommodation for homelessness also ended.

Before Christmas, officials from the House of St Martin in Norton Fitzwarren, which houses single homeless people and ex-offenders, said they might have to close because of the plans.

At a cabinet meeting before Christmas, the Hon Chaplain of the House of St Martin in Norton Fitzwarren, which provides housing-related services to single homeless people and ex-offenders, said the house was at threat of closure because of this.


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House manager Caroline Van-Agen, manager of the house, said this week they were in discussions with other providers to find a solution.

She added: “We are working with the council and other agencies as there is a possible amount of funding available to try and address this but if we don’t get it, we could definitely be at risk of closure.”

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: “We will still be spending around £1.52m on housing related services for people with mental health issues and have made more than £300,000 available to help partners keep some of the other support going.

“A multi-agency partnership, led by Mendip District Council, is looking at alternative approaches to providing support for vulnerable adults with complex needs in Somerset. No decisions have yet been made.”