HBC “shocked” at ESCC cuts to supported housing

Hastings Borough Council declared itself shocked and disappointed at the savage cuts which East Sussex County Council has made to its financial backing for supported housing services, some of which face closure. Nick Terdre reports.

“Hastings Borough Council is very disappointed that East Sussex County Council have agreed to cut 88% of their countywide floating housing support contract and 100% of funding to two supported housing services within Hastings,” a statement said.

These services work closely with council officers to prevent homelessness among vulnerable people, it said. Many of those they help are single and elderly.

The floating support services provided by Brighton Housing Trust Sussex (BHT) prevented the homelessness of 240 households in Hastings last year, while Sanctuary Supported Living provides supported homes to 31 Hastings residents who would otherwise be homeless, HBC said.

Without these services, it could cost the council £15m in additional temporary accommodation costs over four years.

At its meeting this week The ESCC cabinet approved an 88% cut in the housing-related floating support service provided by Brighton Housing Trust, reducing its grant from an annual £4.4m to £500,000. As the council has to give six months’ notice, the cut will take effect on 1 October.

Cllr Julia Hilton, the HBC leader, said: “This decision is particularly shocking as it is contrary to over 80% of the 1,425 consultation responses sent to ESCC and to the county council’s own Equality Impact Assessment (EIA).

“The people most affected by this decision will be those who are facing the most barriers to finding and securing housing and will lead to more evictions and more people being pushed into rough sleeping.”

On its website, BHT says its East Sussex floating support service assisted 5,497 individuals or households in the previous 12 months, including 1,287 households with children and 1,116 individuals aged 75 or more.

Some of the likely impacts were acknowledged in the cuts proposal put forward to the ESCC cabinet by its director of Adult Social Care and Health, who noted that 40% of those who benefited from the BHT service were aged 60 or more, and another 40% self-reported mental health concerns, while the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds supported by the service, at 12.9%, was well above the East Sussex average of 8%.

All funding is also to be withdrawn from the end of the year from supported accommodation services run by Sanctuary Supported Living in Hastings and Eastbourne and the Salvation Army in Bexhill. These services provide accommodation for homeless adults with additional support needs and mental health needs.

According to the cabinet report, ESCC has funded this type of supported accommodation since 2014. It is often used to help people with few other housing options, such as prison leavers, rough sleepers and those experiencing drug and alcohol abuse. In 2023/24, 105 individuals were helped. These services, costing an annual £614,000, “have been identified as being a low-cost provision comparative to the high return on investment due to the preventative impact they have,” says the report. It also notes that without ESCC funding the services are highly likely to close, causing an increase in homelessness.

Another eight items on the cabinet’s agenda concerned proposals to cease or severely restrict the provision of day centres and services for disadvantaged and vulnerable people.

ESCC justified the sweeping cuts move by its need to close a £55m gap to balance its 2025/26 budget. Hopes that last year’s change of government would boost local government finances have yet to be borne out: the provisional local government finance settlement for 2025/26 announced just before Christmas did not ease the county council’s situation – the cabinet report states that “The funding settlement has not resulted in a significant shift in the financial position of East Sussex County Council and the requirement remains to make the same level of savings.”

Moreover, it was not the county council’s statutory duty to fund these services. “…the legal responsibility for providing advice, help and housing to those who are homeless, or at risk of becoming so, lies with District and Borough councils,” the report states.

Hilton commented that, “Ultimately the added costs created will need to be paid for by East Sussex Council taxpayers and will lead to increased suffering by vulnerable people. Conversations around proposed Local Government Reorganisation means these future costs will be faced by one single council with responsibilities for both housing and social care, which makes the proposals even more short-sighted.

“We understand and empathise with the financial plight the county council is facing, however, the answer is not to seek short-term savings, which simply create far more cost in future years.”

“We heard this morning [25 February] that Brighton Housing Trust and the boroughs and districts have a mere 34 days before the contract is ended to come up with an alternative solution. This decision is not based on proper long-term decision making and makes no economic sense.”

 

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