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PEOPLE from a York homeless centre have been on a diving exercise, The Press can reveal today.

Customers from the Peasholme Centre recently took part in a taster diving session, which City of York Council says will help them develop their skills and move on to independent living and a job.

The authority, which operates the centre, confirmed that five customers took part in a half-day pool-based session on Monday, with the total cost of the exercise coming to £200.

A council spokeswoman said: "The diving session was used as a team-building exercise to develop residents' skills in trust, responsibility and communication.

Reader Poll Is a diving trip the best way to get homeless people back into the community? Yes 9.2% No 90.8%

"Customers will use the skills they have learned during their stay at the centre, including through the diving taster, to move on to independent living, education and employment."

She said everyone who took part in the exercise had been instrumental in setting up a new "customer forum".

She said this gave homeless people who did not normally contribute to formal consultations the opportunity to have their say and help develop future services for the homeless in York.

"The work of the forum will be used to help form the council's new Homeless Strategy, which is due to be published in July 2008."

Senior councillors today questioned the organising of the diving trip, with one asking how many other "rewards" the authority had given out.

Coun David Scott, the leader of the authority's Labour opposition group, said: "I cannot see how doing this helps with the objectives that the council now says are the reasons for the diving session.

"As a society, we should protect the most vulnerable and seek to enable them to progress into independent living, education and employment.

"But that needs to be by having a co-ordinated approach, devising a programme and getting the right support from those that can best help.

"It is not the right approach just to spend money on trips' as a reward for taking part in a consultation exercise.

"There should be greater transparency in such events. I would like to know how many other rewards' have been given out throughout through the council."

Tory leader Ian Gillies said he was happy to support independent living and the developing of other skills, and had no problem in money being invested to help to achieve that aim.

But he said: "I would, however, question if other activities would have been more appropriate."

Coun Andy D'Agorne, leader of the Greens, welcomed efforts to involve homeless people in shaping council services, especially if it helped to increase their ability to contribute to society and work with hostel management on designing their own programme.

The council's leader, Coun Steve Galloway, declined to comment on the trip, saying he had no prior knowledge of it.

11:39am Monday 24th March 2008

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