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Council officials have warned MPs that sheltered housing services such as wardens could struggle to function if residents receive individual budgets.

Giving evidence to the Communities and Local Government select committee, Greg Roberts, Supporting People and homelessness strategy manager for Westminster City Council, said: ‘From our point of view, we are fully supportive of the personalisation agenda. It seems it is easy to make it work.

‘Where I really do struggle is where you have an accommodation-based service.’

Mr Roberts explained that individual budgets could disrupt staffing services in sheltered housing as there was a good chance not all service users would choose to pay for warden services. He called for clearer guidance on how services could remain viable in the face of greater consumer choice from individual budgets.

Other local authorities told the committee they felt individual budgets were unnecessary. Stephen Cheetham, Supporting People manager for Cambridgeshire, said: ‘You can achieve the principles of personalisation without going down the individual budgets route.’

The committee is investigating whether the government has successfully implemented promises made in its strategy for Supporting People published in 2007. It will continue to hear evidence from stakeholder groups until 6 July.