HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt has come under pressure from Waverley Borough Council concerning the damaging knock-on effects on the elderly and vulnerable of cuts in central government funding.

Borough council leader Julia Potts agreed at the last full council meeting to write to Mr Hunt expressing “grave concerns” about the impact of Surrey County Council’s decision to axe its £176,000 grant to the borough council that funds the wardens at eight sheltered-housing units, including Rolston House, in Haslemere.

Responding, Mr Hunt who is also the Tory MP for Haslemere, said: “In my time as Health Secretary I have always stressed local services are interrelated and what happens in terms of broader support for the elderly has a big knock-on effect on the NHS.

“Thankfully as the economy has turned around the government has now started to increase funding for social care but there is still a lot of pressure in the system.”

Waverley’s full council agreed to support a recommendation from its “watchdog” housing overview and scrutiny committee that the leader should also write to the Prime Minister Theresa May and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to press the Government to bring forward the long-awaited Green Paper on the future funding of supported housing.

The letters were fired off with a report attached by Waverley tenants panel condemning the county’s decision to cut its housing- related support grant.

Objecting to the decision at the meeting, Tory councillor Pat Frost said: “I am only too well aware of the financial problems faced by Surrey, but I am increasingly concerned the vulnerable are being targeted.

“When I learned people in our sheltered homes would be targeted, I was appalled. I think the county council should have made far more effort to continue the grant.

“Our tenants are well-served by the panel, which has been trying to convince Surrey to give us this grant.”

Farnham Residents’ councillor Andy Macleod said: “Some residents are very distressed by the prospect of losing their wardens.

“Twelve years ago, there were three staff at each home, four years ago that was reduced to one and they are only just managing.

“If we have only four wardens covering eight homes it will be impossible.

“We have to come up with something to keep our wardens going. We should certainly have a go at Jeremy Hunt.

“He is Health Secretary and should be very concerned about the knock-on effect. Some tenants may want to move into full care, which will cost Surrey CC and the NHS more.

“Our sheltered homes are a terrific halfway house.”

Miss Potts said she had been contacted by “very concerned” tenants in the homes affected.

“It’s a significant amount of money for WBC to try to find to bridge the gap,” she said. “We will see what we can do. I have written to our MP. This is a retrograde step that affects outmost vulnerable tenants. A lot of people are very upset.”