They've been reducing crime and the fear of crime on estates around the country. But now neighbourhood wardens are under threat. Next year the government is to withdraw the £68m it channels into funding the 208 street and neighbourhood warden schemes in the UK.
Authorities are on a desperate treasure hunt to find alternative income streams to keep their schemes running. Many appear to have been caught on the hop.

It's difficult to pinpoint why the situation has come to this, given that the government maintains the cash was only ever there to kick-start the programme. But to give it its dues, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is now giving advice on possible sources of cash. Many authorities will clearly not want to take one of the options – that of dipping into the Housing Revenue Account. If no extra cash can be found, the options are for the Home Office – which has, after all, taken up the antisocial behaviour baton – to pick up the bill, or for the ODPM's neighbourhood renewal unit to dig into its pockets. Thirty-nine of its New Deal for Communities projects underspending by £240m, so there ought to be a rich vein to tap.

With the government on a crusade to curb nuisance, an untimely end to one of its most successful and seemingly popular initiatives is tantamount to shooting itself in the foot.

Authorities are on a desperate treasure hunt for cash to keep warden schemes

Has compulsory competitive tendering, that reviled Thatcherite policy, risen from the dead? The news that arm's-length management organisations are to start casting their nets wider than former colleagues in the search for providers of services such as legal and financial back-up might send a shiver of déjà-vu down council spines (page 9). But it shouldn't really come as any great surprise. The steps being taken by Kirklees' and Derby's ALMOs are a natural progression for a newly independent offspring fleeing the parental nest.

As long ago as 2001, the Audit Commission was recommending that if ALMOs are to operate as standalone bodies with different regulatory and financial regimes, it makes good business sense for them to be able to choose where they procure their services. Although losing the custom of the housing team could have difficult consequences for councils, they do – unlike in a stock transfer – keep the chance to get that business back and there's no reason that they couldn't offer the best service.

Source

Housing Today