Housing cut 'puts young people at homelessness risk'

Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to cut the number of beds for those leaving care

A council has been warned its plan to reduce housing support for young people leaving the care system could result in a rise in homelessness.

Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to lower part of the support on offer by more than 20%, from 203 beds to as low as 154.

It said the changes would allow time to redesign the service, making it more effective and saving money.

But a joint statement from Oxfordshire's other councils said, alongside lowering the maximum age for support from 25 to 21, the changes "could produce a rise in homelessness amongst vulnerable groups".

The Young People's Supported Accommodation programme helps those leaving the care system to adapt to independent living.

It supports them to learn the skills to live on their own and continue education, training and employment, at a cost to the council of £2.1m per year.

The young person funds the accommodation, often using housing benefit, and has a tenancy agreement with an independent provider.

The county council then funds the support provided to them – including learning skills like how to cook and budgeting.

The planned contract changes affect the support arrangement, with up to 49 beds no longer receiving the additional help from 1 October, although the council intends to temporarily extend the rest of the programme.

Oxfordshire's city and district councils, which are responsible for providing emergency accommodation to people in a housing crisis, can also use the programme for young people who are homeless.

They are Cherwell District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils and Oxford City Council.

In a statement they said: "We support an extension of the contracts for Young Peoples Supported Accommodation.

"However we are concerned about the proposed changes to the contract and the resulting reduction in provision."

A county council spokesperson said: "We are reducing contracts where there was under-use and reduced need because of the type of accommodation and location.

"It did not seem appropriate for us to continue to pay for commissioned contracts that were not being fully utilised."