Council to review decison on wardens (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Council to review decison on wardens

A REVIEW of Salisbury district council's controversial decision to remove wardens from its sheltered housing schemes has been announced.

The investigation, which will be done by SDC's community and housing scrutiny panel, comes three weeks after widespread complaints from residents and councillors were first highlighted in the Journal.

Sheltered housing residents, staff, councillors and interested groups will be asked to submit their comments from now until June 30. There will be a full examination of:

the reasons the cabinet took the decision, last July, to introduce a new service that saw wardens moved off-site;

the work that led up to the policy review, including the Best Value Review of Elderly and Vulnerable People;

what the involvement and understanding of councillors was at the time;

how tenants were consulted;

why the policy was adopted in advance of changes to the Supporting People for Wiltshire Strategy;

residents' understanding of the changes;

residents' views of the new service;

how other local authorities and organisations have responded to the Supporting People programme.

Formal visits will take place at several sheltered housing schemes, so that members of the panel can speak directly to those affected, and more detailed interviews with residents, councillors and staff will be completed by July 15.

An initial report of the evidence will be published by the end of July and the final report on October 19.

News of the review has been welcomed by leader of the Liberal Democrat council group Paul Sample, who said: "I am glad that councillors are getting the chance to review this decision.

"However, the stable door has been open for 11 months and the horse bolted long ago."

His views were echoed by Joy Eckford, a resident at Addison Square sheltered scheme, in Durrington.

She said: "It is a bit late in the day, an 11th-hour announcement - but nothing is set in stone and hopefully something positive will come out of the review for the residents." The council cabinet approved recommendations to remove wardens from the council's 22 sheltered complexes - which house more than 500 elderly people - in July last year.

The Lib-Dems have organised a public meeting for June 27 in the Alamein Suite, City Hall, between 4pm and 5pm, and are inviting wardens and residents to come along and express their views.

The removal of wardens will also be discussed at the following full council meeting at 6pm at Salisbury City Hall.