As you may know, for many years money has been given by the Department of Health to Local Authorities to be spent specifically on social care services for people living with HIV.  This funding is known as the AIDS Support Grant.  Until recently, this money was ‘ring-fenced’ which meant Local Authorities could only use the Grant for this purpose. The ring-fence has now been removed and, whilst Local Authorities still receive money specifically for HIV Social Care, this money is no longer safeguarded.  The social care services funded by the Grant are essential and many local organisations that support people living with HIV depend on this funding.  We want to ensure that Local Authorities continue to support people with HIV despite the removal of the ring-fence.  This is a particular concern in the current climate, as councils are being asked to make significant savings, so services are vulnerable to cuts. 

For this reason, we think it’s important to campaign to safeguard HIV social care services and make sure the allocated budget is spent in the right way. You can write to your Local Authority to highlight the importance of continuing to fund social care services for people living with HIV. We are currently preparing a letter template and compiling local data  so you can write to your Local Councillor about this important issue.

 Over the next few weeks, please help us encourage people to sign up to SHout Loud so that as many people as possible take part in this important action. The template and data will be available here at the beginning of August. Please sign up now to receive an email when the letter and data is ready.

In the meantime if you feel strongly about this issue and would like to find out more about what you can do right now please contact Laura Dunkeyson at NAT (National AIDS Trust): laura.dunkeyson@nat.org.uk.   

For further information about the Grant see NAT’s report published last year, The AIDS Support Grant: Making a Difference