Elleray Hall to fight for funding
Day centres and charities that support old and vulnerable residents in the borough will need to fight for their future after competitive bidding will replace grant funding.
Linden Hall (Hampton) and Elleray Hall could consolidate and individually face closure after the council stated that only one would be funded in each of four areas.
Opposition Councillor Stephen Knight: “This is an extremely worrying time for all of the local charities that work with older people and vulnerable adults. The Tories are determined to impose their free-market ideology by forcing them into a wholly inappropriate competitive tendering exercise, even if this results in longstanding local charities losing their funding to large national providers which can submit a more professional bid.”
Councillor David Marlow (cabinet member for adults’ services and housing) has been informing local charities about the new process and believes that the plethora of current specific local services and charities may confuse some so having less that provide all services will make things clearer whilst enhancing the offering and distributing them more fairly.
A petition has been started by members and volunteers of Elleray Hall (run by Teddington Older People’s Welfare Association) to strengthen the argument to keep services in Teddington at the hall that also hosts a wide variety of activities and events.
[Update 22/11/2013] Community care contractors have been selected by LBRUT via Richmond Times.
We need to fight for Elleray Hall. I would like to know what it costs the Council to keep it open. I feel sure that local volunteers could run this as a Trust.