MORE than £730,000 is set to be cut from a scheme supporting thousands of vulnerable people in York.

Government cuts mean City of York Council’s share of the national Supporting People grant will shrink next year, leaving less money available to pay for independent living services.

The funding is aimed at groups such as disabled people, those with mental health problems and women at risk of domestic violence.

The authority’s budget proposals for 2011/12 earmark a 13.3 per cent decrease, equating to £739,000, which will see the amount available drop from about £5.5 million to about £4.8 million.

But council bosses said this is much less than the Government’s original 48.1 per cent Supporting People grant reduction for York. Some of the shortfall has been plugged by efficiency savings and manoeuvring money around its budgets.

Services run under the scheme range from hostels to sheltered housing and independent tenancies, as well as supported housing projects and home visits.

Council leader Andrew Waller said the authority wanted to protect front-line services and lessen the impact of the Supporting People cut.

He said: “We have made sure the national reduction is not passed on to residents in York. We have looked at all our budgets as a whole and, because this funding is not ring-fenced, we can move money around more freely than in the past.

“Because we have prioritised services for vulnerable people in our budget process, we have been able to achieve this outcome.

“It’s frustrating, but the legacy of the previous Government means that is where we are, and York is in a better position than other councils where the overall reduction has simply been passed on to residents.”

But Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, adult social services spokesperson for the council’s Labour group, said: “Of all the cuts emerging day after day, this strikes me as one of the most painful.

“The Government knows councils will not implement the full cut in this area and make up the shortfall from other cuts. It is a devious way of implementing indirect cuts to councils’ other services and will impact on the most vulnerable, whatever is spun to the public.”