Council homelessness cuts 'will put lives at risk'

Newcastle City Council has proposed halving homelessness prevention contracts

Council bosses are facing criticism over proposals to halve spending on beds and support for homeless people.

Newcastle City Council has proposed cutting its spending on homelessness prevention contracts from £3.3m to just £1.6m from October.

Former rough sleeper Alan Conway said "people's lives are going to be at risk" because of the cuts.

Councillor Irim Ali said the council is not proposing to "leave individuals on the streets without support".

The council's plan was first announced in November and comes as it tries to slash £60m from its budget over the next three years.

Charity Changing Lives provides 219 of the 734 beds for homeless people currently commissioned by the council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said more than 300 beds in the city would be lost and staff would be cut as a result of the reduced funding.

'I'd be dead'

Mr Conway, 39, said Changing Lives had helped him with education, mental health and medical appointments.

He said: "Without Changing Lives, I would probably be in the hospital or dead.

"People’s lives are going to be at risk because of this [budget cut]."

Councillor Ali said: “The reality is our homelessness provision here in Newcastle is far and above the offer in other major UK cities, and the statutory obligations we have as a local authority.

“Despite what some have said, this proposal is not simply about cutting beds. We are not proposing to leave individuals to live on the streets without support.

"We are proposing to use the funding we have available to take a more holistic approach to reducing homelessness."

He added that the council needed to "invest in tackling the root cause through a whole-city approach".