As you will be aware, Hampshire County Council’s recent consultation on proposals to stop funding three adult social care grant schemes, worth £320,000, has closed. As the council now considers the many responses sent in by the public – we urge them to reconsider the proposals.

The cuts will mean that Hampshire’s growing older population are at risk of losing vital services like those provided by MHA Communities, Good Neighbours Network and Age Concern Hampshire. These services include a wealth of activities that cater directly to older people’s needs.

We understand the need for councils across the board to make savings due to pressures including national funding cuts, but feel that the benefits of services like these more than justify the continuation of these grants.

If scrapped, it could increase costs to both the council and local health services, which in the long run could cost more than it saves.

Our concern is that many older people across Hampshire will be left without the support they need; causing them to lean on GPs and the council for day-to-day enquiries which local surgeries and council officers may not have time to resource.

We believe that the activities and services provided in Hampshire are exactly the kind that the government’s Social Care White Paper aspires to – preventative, people-focused, and seeking to delay the need for adult social care. They should serve as the inspiration for future preventative services across the country’s health and social care system, and Hampshire should support these services to grow, not end them.

To conclude, we urge the council to listen to the many people who have responded to the consultation and reconsider the cuts to these vital grants. We ask this not for the organisations who provide services, but for the older people of Hampshire.

No savings made will outweigh the benefits of these services nor cover the gaps they fill.

Yours faithfully,

ORGS

Jonathan Mace MHA Communities

The Revd Canon Nick Ralph Good Neighbours Network

Emma McQuiston Age Concern Hampshire

Susi Drummond Abri

Karen Birch Anchor

Rachel Pearson Beaulieu Estate

Cheryl Blackman Freedom Community Church, Gosport

Bruce White Community First

Mary Scobell Complex Care Team, Highlands Medical Practice

Cllr Adam Manning Deputy Mayor of Eastleigh

Cllr Keith House Leader, Eastleigh Borough Council

Cheryl Blackman Freedom Community Church, Gosport

Dr Nasser Siabi Microlink

Nikki Cobby Mid Hampshire Healthcare Limited

Priyani Dissanayake NE Hants & Farnham Social Prescribing

Keith Manning Oakley Court

Heather Symons Old Basing Methodist Church

Jo Harrington RNIB

Tessa Notman-Watt Royal Voluntary Service

Donna Bone Rushmoor Voluntary Services

Carol Bailey Seniors Ministry Worker, Winchester Baptist Church

The Transformation Team Social Prescriber - Abbeywell Surgery

Alison Rosenberg Social Prescriber - Romsey / North Baddesley

Clive Cook St John's Winchester

Kate Prowse The YOU Trust

Tim Searle United Church Winchester

Terry Bishop Unity

Jane Peacock University of Winchester

Naomi Irving University of Winchester

Sian Griffiths Winchester City PCN Social Prescriber

Sarah Weekes Winchester District Older Persons Partnership

Sue Boul Winchester Good Neighbours

Claire Coxwell Woolmer Forest Timebank

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