SOCIAL housing groups in the Bradford district have received national backing after calling for the Government to reconsider changes they fear could make vulnerable people homeless.

Yorkshire Housing, which operates 18,500 properties in the county, including hundreds in Bradford, said changes to the Local Housing Allowance cap being considered by the government could lead to some tenants being forced out of their homes.

Initially, the cap was only going to apply to working age tenants in general needs housing, but it is feared it will also affect elderly people and those in need of specialist support, such as homeless war veterans, who would be unable to maintain their tenancies if changes were made.

In Bradford, Yorkshire Housing provide 655 people with specialist support, and 3,500 across the county.

It said it housed 386 elderly people and 269 people who need specialist support, who could all end up being forced onto the streets if these changes are made.

Mervyn Jones, chief executive of Yorkshire Housing, said: "We understand that the Government needs to make savings but in reality this would be an own goal, simply increasing the burden on the public purse as these people seek more costly provision in the private sector.

"We urge the government to clarify that this is not the case and that these schemes can be saved."

He also said the change would hit vulnerable people by an average of £68 a week, and people in Yorkshire as a whole would be at risk of losing £2 million every year.

Henry Gredd, assistant director of communications and campaigns at the National Housing Federation, supported Mr Jones' concerns, saying: "We are deeply concerned about the impact of the LHA Cap on supported and sheltered housing and are calling on Government to provide clarity that these changes will only apply to working age general needs housing.

"Supported housing is a vital lifeline for many vulnerable people, and we are working hard to ensure that housing associations are able to keep these homes and services open."

Housing provider Incommunities, which has almost 21,500 properties in the Bradford district, echoed the worries of Yorkshire Housing and the NHF.

Geraldine Howley, Incommunities Group chief executive, said: "As an organisation we are very concerned about the impact of this proposed cap on our elderly and vulnerable customers and on some of our residents aged under 35.

"Along with many of our social housing partners we are pressing the government to reconsider its position and to continue to work with us to address our national housing crisis."

A Government spokesman said: "We have always been clear that we value the work the supported accommodation sector does to protect the most vulnerable members of society, and that's why we are carrying out a thorough review, working with the sector, to ensure that it works in the best way possible – which is what the NHF has asked for.

"We are also providing councils with £870m of Discretionary Housing Payments which can be paid to people in supported accommodation."

The spokesman also said that the government will be cutting social rents, which have risen by more than double the amount as private sector rents since 2010, to protect tenants from rising costs, and that the LHA cap will not apply to rents in the social rented sector until April 2018.