A decision over whether to end Bradford Council funding of a homeless people’s project has been deferred until later in the year.

Gingerbread Housing Project staff were expecting the charity to lose its £162,000 grant from the Council’s Supporting People fund when its strategic core group met this week.

The charity, which has supported 500 homeless families in Bradford since it started 20 years ago, anticipated that it would be forced out of business as a result of losing the money.

Moira Wilson, the Council’s strategic director for adult and community services, said: “The Supporting People commissioning body has deferred the decision pending further discussions with elected members and stakeholders.”

She said even if Gingerbread eventually loses its funding, the needs of its service-users would be met.

“We’re very clear that everyone currently using the accommodation or services of the Gingerbread Housing Project would continue to receive support, if the proposals about future provision for homeless people were to be accepted by the multi-agency commissioning body,” she said.

“No resident would need to leave until appropriate alternative accommodation had been found.”

The Supporting People Programme provides housing-related support to help vulnerable people to live as independently as possible in the community. It is funded from the overall formula grant which the Council receives from the Government.

Bradford’s allocation for Supporting People was reduced by £2.4 million, or 13 per cent, this year.

Corine Campbell, project manager for Gingerbread, said: “This decision has to be good. We’ll see what they come up with but I don’t think they will have a radical rethink. Our basis for negotiation would be to give us longer to raise alternative funding. What we are working for is a decision so we can work towards being self-sustaining.

“We just want to keep the service and quality of service we have got and the relationship we have with the district. People know Gingerbread, they know what they get with us and they keep coming back. We can’t close.”

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