Threat to live-in wardens tested

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By Andrew Bomford Reporter, BBC Radio 4's PM programme Campaigners have protested against the threat to live-in wardens

A test case is being fought in the High Court challenging whether councils can remove live-in wardens from sheltered housing. Opponents say vulnerable people will be put at risk.

Some councils are planning to save money by cutting the numbers of wardens. Those remaining becoming a "floating" service, visiting residents less frequently but still responding to call-outs.

For 87-year-old Lorna Bessinger the issue is very simple.

"My warden is my best friend," she says, "She keeps me safe and free from fear. There would be a great hole in my life without our warden. She solves all our problems."

Her neighbour Elsie Woodford has a more pressing concern.

"My warden saved my life," she says.

If I'd had to wait for 'floating wardens', I'd be dead Elsie Woodford, sheltered housing resident

"I had fluid building around my lungs, and I have a heart condition. I pulled the cord and my warden was with me in less than five minutes.

"She knows my history and had the paramedics out in moments. If I'd had to wait for 'floating wardens', I'd be dead."

It is an anxious time for sheltered housing residents like Lorna and Elsie.

They both live in Barnet in north London, but there are similar concerns facing residents in many places around the country.

"No-frills service"

Councils, under acute financial pressures, are taking a hard look at the growing costs of care for the elderly and some are concluding that a number of services can no longer be afforded.

"We have 55,000 people of retirement age in the borough, but only 1,500 in sheltered housing," says Mike Freer, leader of the London Borough of Barnet.

"Only 3% have any access to a warden, so our budget is not being spent wisely. Huge numbers of our pensioners need our support but currently aren't getting it."

Barnet Council is at the forefront of a Conservative experiment in offering "no-frills" services to cut spending.

The idea has been called - although not by Barnet council itself - "easycouncil", after the budget airline's business model.

Residents wanting better services would pay more, while others who need less would get rebates.

Fighting back

Barnet is planning to cut the numbers of wardens from 65 to around 25, with remaining staff providing a "floating" service.

Currently most wardens live in the housing units and form a close bond with residents.

The proposal will save the council about £400,000 a year. A separate proposal to save more money - which would have resulted in residents paying more for the service - was rejected.

A similar process of replacing live-in wardens with floating services is under way in many other local authorities.

But sheltered housing residents are fighting back.

A test case challenging the legality of the decision by Barnet and Portsmouth councils is currently being fought at the High Court in London.

Residents are using disability legislation to argue that the councils failed to consult them properly or consider the impact on disabled people.

Ad hoc groups of pensioners have also fought lively local campaigns with marches and demonstrations to raise awareness about the issue. This week residents from Barnet and Portsmouth picketed both the Conservative Party headquarters in London and also Downing Street.

It is expected that a judgement on the test case will be delivered in the coming weeks with both local councils and residents watching closely.