NORTH Ayrshire Council is to axe over £159,000 in housing support funding for external providers of sheltered accommodation – and it is feared services could be affected.

Irvine Housing Association, Hanover Scotland, and Trust Housing Association have been given 30 days’ notice of the withdrawal of an estimated £159,345 between them.

Irvine Housing Association will lose around £42,676 in housing support and this will affect two of the provider’s retirement complexes in Kilwinning – West Doura Court, which consists of 19 bungalows, and Hawthorn Place, a complex of 22 bungalows.

Hanover is to lose £96,000, which will impact its sheltered housing in Dalry, Ardrossan and Saltcoats, while £20,669 is to be axed for two of Trust’s complexes on Arran.

Both Irvine Housing Association and Trust Housing Association refused to comment on the potential impact the funding cuts will have on their properties, but staff and relatives of residents at Hanover’s Morris Court in Dalry were happy to express their concerns.

Helen Murdoch, Chief Executive of Hanover Scotland, said: “Last week, we received a letter from North Ayrshire Council informing us, without prior notice, that they will no longer give housing support to external providers, meaning a cut of £96,000 to our budget in the area which could impact on our staff and services.

“Our first priority is to urgently seek discussions with North Ayrshire Council and other potential partners to determine how we can reduce or avoid the impact of these cuts on local services and we are committed to doing all we can to achieve that goal.

“This decision would mostly affect our very sheltered development at Morris Court, Dalry, but there may also be an impact for our developments at Eglington Court, Saltcoats, and Montgomerie Court in Ardrossan.

“We are deeply concerned about the decision, the absence of realistic notice and the effects this could have on vulnerable residents.

“As a result of this, and if we are unable to avoid the impact of these cuts, both jobs and services will be at risk but through full discussions with the local authority and others we hope to be able to redesign our activities in such a way that means we can continue to deliver a high-quality service for our residents whilst also protecting our staff.”

A relative of one of Hanover’s residents told the Times: “All 32 residents at Morris Court have been given 30 days’ notice. I’m dumbfounded. I know there are cuts everywhere, but to leave elderly people in a home for those who can’t do anything for themselves… Who’s going to be doing their personal care?

“Some of the old dears will be all panicking, thinking who’s going to feed them. One of the other questions I would like to be answered by the council is are they going to put in their own team of carers and pay them minimum wage? I think it’s the fact it’s 30 days’ notice. That doesn’t give any company a chance to put any procedures in place to deal with it.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We previously received ring-fenced grant funding from central government which was mainly used to help us support warden services across our external partners. “We, along with all local authorities, stopped receiving these grants in 2008 but we continued, where possible, to maintain this level of support from our own resources.

“Unfortunately, we had to make a number of tough decisions in this year’s budget and it was agreed that we could no longer afford to provide this level of funding for a service, that we no longer deliver in our own facilities, to our external partners. We will meet with representatives from Hanover to offer assistance to help mitigate the impact.”