I was encouraged by Tony Soares’ article “Not good on paper” (21 January, page 21).

It is good to know that as a small association with just 47 units of sheltered accommodation for the elderly, we are not the only social landlord to have been obliged by our local authority to produce rafts of new policies and procedures.

The authority even wants a new handbook – to be received by every tenant as part of their tenancy agreement – to incorporate matters such as the complaints procedure. And all this to enable us to receive less money than we received before Supporting People, with little or no chance of any increase in the forseeable future.

How much more can the voluntary sector take? Most people who work in the sector joined because of their concern for people – not to deal with voluminous paperwork. Little if any of this really benefits the people for whom the whole process was supposedly set up, and in many cases it causes concern about their future. Who is this really providing value for money for? Perhaps it’s time we had an ombudsman to whom we can make our complaints about the levels of bureaucracy!

Barry Ingate, Stanmore Christian Housing Association

Source

Housing Today