What's happening to the wardens - sheltered housing

Latest situation is - after talking to people locally at Butts Green and the Lawns in Whittlesford I expressed my concern at the plans to axe on-site wardens in sheltered housing and replace them with floating ones. My views appeared, accurately, in the Cambridge News tho' under a fairly provocative headline - but the fourth estate and all that.

At South Cambs full council in September I put down a question asking the housing portfolio holder for his plans, and to be fair, Mark Howell gave a very full reply, which included the complicating factor of the wider issue of the withdrawal of the government's "supporting people" grants, which has led many councils and housing associations to go for floating wardens.

I said to Mark that he was welcome to come and talk to the residents at the Lawn here in Whittlesford, which he had offered to do, but we all actually want him and the officers to focus on finding the best solution possible for our most vulnerable residents. I will ask the residents if they would find a discussion with Mark helpful: I'm sure they will, as one of the concerns voiced by Help the Aged is that people across the country have not been consulted on proposals that materially affect them.

There is a Guardian article covering the issue, including Joan Bakewell's involvement as the government's "older people champion" , and here is a link to a Help the Aged report (big download alert!).