RADICAL proposals to close and privatise old people's homes have been withdrawn after an investigation by the Daily Echo.

Southampton City Council was considering proposals to close Northlands House residential home and privatise Whitehaven Lodge as part of a multi-million pound review of services.

But after the ruling Labour group became aware that the Daily Echo was investigating the review, specific mention of the two homes has been withdrawn.

Instead, social services bosses will only now confirm that a widespread review of all seven homes in the city is under way, sparking union fears that the eventual cuts could be just as severe as those first proposed for Northlands and Whitehaven.

The review is part of a bid to shave £3.3 mil-lion off the £56 million budget for social services by the end of this year.

Consideration is also being given to stream-lining homes - for example, creating specialist homes for people with dementia. This is more cost-effective for the council, as it allows it to charge extra for homes that cater for very dependent residents.

Social services teams were warned at the beginning of the year they needed to make radical savings, after civic chiefs decided they couldn't afford to bail the department out with extra cash next year.

John Beer, department director, admitted there were very tough choices to be made.

"Every option is still being explored, and we are working closely with managers, staff and the unions to find the best solution. No decisions have yet been made, and all options will be presented to councillors."

His first priority was to the vulnerable residents of all homes.

Unison spokesman Mike Tucker said he was concerned that the policy backtrack - discussed at a closed Labour group meeting - would increase general uncertainty among staff and put potentially more jobs at risk.

"This has been prompted by the fact the Echo was investigating it. They are just putting off the decision, because they've been told they shouldn't predict the outcome at the beginning of the review.

"We are very angry there seems to be a change without any committee mandate. But all it means is they will go through the review knowing what the likely conclusions are."

Staff at Northlands have already been told about possible closure, and a social services spokeswoman confirmed that residents in homes were also being told about the review.

Changes to residential homes are only part of the cash-saving restructuring of social serv-ices. Savings of around £1.1 million also need to be found in the children's and young persons' sector, where officers are looking at decommissioning a currently unused children's home in Shirley, and a further £1.1 million from the mental health service. So far, no detailed proposals for these sectors have been brought forward.

Chris Perry, director of Hampshire Age Concern, said authorities across the country were looking at reducing the number of old people's homes, as many are under-used.

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