After last Friday’s budget presentation to the voluntary sector at The Riverside Centre we caught up with Nichola Goom from ROCC, an organisation that aims to improve the lives of people requiring support.
Nichola talked us through the Supporting People Programme.
She explained the budget of £5.5m was until last April, ring-fenced (ie. meaning it couldn’t be used for any other purposes). It appears that of this £5.5m, there was £1.9m of unallocated funding.
If you’re not aware of the Supporting People programme, it provides support for the most vulnerable of people living on the Island such as those with learning disabilities, mental health issues, older people, those suffering domestic violence, homelessness or substance abuse.
Nichola told us how the programme provides low level support for those people to help maintain tenancy. She went on to say that without the support, there would be more homeless people, which would potentially result in costing more to Island.
Cuts could cost the Island more long term
She cited a Government research tool used by the Isle of Wight Council which showed that the £5.5m Supporting People budget actually saved £21.5m from other budgets across the Island.
There seems to be confusion as to where the £1.9m of unallocated money has gone and where it will be spent.
Listen to the podcast to hear more. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/nichola-goom-rocc-riverside-budget-cuts.mp3]
