ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL AGAINST SHELTERED HOUSING

 

Approximately 2 years ago the Aberdeenshire Council consulted with individual Sheltered Housing complexes.  The purpose of the consultations was to share with residents that they were gathering information as part of the Sheltered Housing review. It was made clear that there was a possibility that as many as 5 schemes could be earmarked for closure.

The next step was to send surveys to all residents to complete and return to them. This formed the basis of their complex investigation into the viability of continuing to offer this type of Housing going forward.

According to the council this exercise was to be completed, and their findings shared in the second quarter of 2024. This date moved constantly and eventually the council was ready to disclose their results in April 2025.

As of April 2025, consultations are being held at 17 Sheltered Housing schemes where the tenants are being told that their home is one of the 17 schemes targeted for closure. The reason for this is because the council are currently running at a £2 mil deficit in their 2025 budget and they must be in a position to even this out now or according to their projected budget, they will be running at a £135mil loss by 2055.

The consultation that was held at Rothienorman on the 10th of April 2025 started with Mr Mackie disputing some information leaked on social media and in the press. When asked why the council are not releasing a statement to the press, it was suggested that they were not ready to do so and the press was dealt with by a separate department. The tenants from the Kinbroom House Sheltered Housing scheme invited a journalist from the Press & Journal to sit in on the consultation but was denied access by the Aberdeenshire Council.

When challenged about how many of the existing 50 plus schemes are running at a loss, it was disclosed that all but 2 cottage schemes (Old Meldrum and Inverurie) were showing a loss. The Council are adamant at this time that not all 17 schemes will close, and their final decision will be taken in June 2025 when all the information is presented to the board of councillors to make a final decision.

The council representatives listed various excuses for the closure of these vital facilities:

1.      Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is ring-fenced ie, the only funding for this budget is rental income

2.      Maintenance costs have increased by 40%

3.      Covid and cost of living crisis

4.      Fall in demand for this type of housing

5.      Forced to upgrade the buildings in line with the Scottish Governments guidelines but no grants given by the government to cover these costs

6.      The services offered to sheltered housing tenants are excessively expensive

 

It is evident that Sheltered Housing schemes are not the same as they were many years ago when they were set up with on-site wardens for very old and possibly sick of our society to live comfortably having the security of knowing there was support on hand when needed. All tenants are currently added to the care system and issued emergency pendants whether this is needed or not.

During the meeting it was disclosed that this type of housing is moving more towards being independent living within a community of like-minded people. There are changes in the pipeline to how the sheltered housing schemes will be operated which includes a more person-centred approach when it comes to individual care facilities. If necessary, the tenants will be added to the care register and will pay for this individually. They will be moving away from the “one size fits all” approach as it currently stands. They will be swapping out the old analogue system for a more updated system with regards to the door entry and emergency care systems. This is expected to save the council MILLIONS of pounds going forward.  

Once the meeting had concluded, the council staff introduced themselves to the tenants and then left to hold a public meeting in the Rothienorman Village Hall in the middle of the day, during school holidays knowing that people are working or away on holiday.

Mr Mackie then gave an interview to the journalist from the Press & Journal who was denied access to the housing scheme when he was invited by tenants.

 

We would like to raise some questions and expect some real, honest and unscripted answers.

1.      How do the proposed “pipeline” changes from analogue to digital impact the 30 year projected budget?

 

2.      It also became evident that the HRA includes ALL housing stock, not only Sheltered Housing. Why are they not targeting all residents in social housing that are NOT paying rent? Which sector of the general population in social housing has also been targeted as of today? Evidently, it is just easier to cut housing for the elderly and disabled. Much the same as cutting the winter heating allowance for pensioners was the easiest and quickest way to recoup the largest sum of money in one swoop!

 

3.      When asked about what will happen to the building once all tenants have been ejected, there was no concise or well considered response. They may sell it or they may use it for different accommodation purposes. Frankly, the most accurate answer should have been that they will simply leave it to rot, as they have with many other houses that are not fit for purpose anymore. It is not unreasonable to assume that assets will be disposed off in an attempt to balance the HRA budget. Otherwise, there is no point making tenants homeless to sit with yet another empty building.

 

4.      Tenants were told that they do not necessarily have to move to a COUNCIL run facility, they should also consider Housing Association or even private rent. How does the council think they will balance their budget when they are encouraging rent PAYING tenants to move to Housing Associations or private landlords and effectively losing rental income? It is a bizarre statement to make!  

 

5.      As the housing budget not only covers sheltered housing but ALL Aberdeenshire housing, it would be very interesting to see what sector of the general population has been targeted in order to displace them and their families with the end result being a balanced budget?!?

 

6.      As disclosed, every scheme barring the cottages in Old Meldrum and Inverurie are running at a loss. Why is the council not meeting with ALL schemes running in deficit? Looking at the plan for only meeting with 17 of those schemes, solidifies in our minds that ALL 17 schemes WILL be closed.

 

7.      While it is understood that “no final decision” has been made yet, how do you expect the most vulnerable of our society to live with the uncertainty of where we will end up or when we will be ejected from our current homes?

 

8.      As the council are effectively making the residents of a possible 17 schemes homeless, we all want to be settled in new accommodation sooner rather than later. However, where are we expected to go? There is a massive housing shortage in Scotland and more specifically in Aberdeenshire, so why are you closing down perfectly good accommodation blocks and effectively making possibly as many as 200 vulnerable people homeless? 

 

9.      Where would these residents sit on your waiting lists? Will they be given priority? Please remember that the council has already confirmed that the highly sought after schemes will not be closing. There are 6 or more months of waiting lists for these schemes. What about perspective tenants that have the need for this type of housing? Will they just be discarded?

 

10.  It is reasonably expected that when being re-housed an offer of like-for-like will be met. This cannot be confirmed, and it was re-iterated that each tenant will be re-assessed by an Occupational Therapist. When challenged on this, the response was “what if your needs have changed?” Why then are you only thinking about this now? Why have you not been doing this all along? This is something that existing tenants and their families would have done if they found it necessary. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND USE IT ELSEWHERE!! You are duty bound to provide the same or better than current accommodation. 

 

11.  Has the council considered each individual’s needs? There are tenants that are cared for by their extended families that are local to each village. If the tenants are forced to move to different areas and shoe-horned into accommodation that is not suitable, then families will not be in a position logistically, to provide this care. This will then become a burden on the council to provide more care for these residents and adds more stress to families which is totally unacceptable. Also adding to an already stretched budget outside of the HRA! (So we’ll just shift the problem!).

 

12.  Will the council intervene for elderly or unwell residents to be placed in nursing / care homes? Again, there are extremely long waiting lists for this type of facility which has stopped residents being moved until now.

 

13.  Has the Council considered the impact that moving people out of areas has on their family’s wellbeing? Each resident has specific needs for them personally however, they may have specific needs for their families. Are the council accepting responsibility to house FAMILIES local to where the displaced tenants will be placed?

 

14.  Why have changes from the extortionate analogue system to the far cheaper digital system not been done before now? 

 

15.  Why has the council not pushed harder to fill empty units in some of the outlying areas? Advertising the way Sheltered Housing has changed over the years and the criteria for tenancy would vastly improve the occupancy for each scheme. 

 

16.  Why are tenants still paying for services we no longer receive or require? Once these charges are stopped, it would become more affordable for many people and possibly increase occupancy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The council have offered a package to displaced tenants as follows:

 

a.      Assistant with moving (including packing / unpacking).

b.     New floor coverings.

c.      New window coverings.

d.     Grant of £2570 will be given to each displaced tenant.

 

 

HOWEVER

 

Ø  This in no way minimises the effect that this has on people’s health and wellbeing. 

 

Ø  It is a disgrace that the council feel that targeting the elderly and disabled is the easiest way forward.  

 

Ø  It is unthinkable that the council feels this is the best course of action - due to THEIR mismanagement of funds.  

 

Ø  Where is your duty of care to those tenants that have lived in their homes for a number of years, paying rent and now their homes, their neighbours, their communities, their families are being ripped away from them?

 

Ø  There are many extremely unhappy Sheltered Housing tenants that are being made to give up their homes because the council are unable to work within a budget, set by the COUNCIL. 

 

PLEASE SIGN TO HELP US STOP THE CLOSURE OF OUR HOMES