A leading mental health charity will lose council funding it has received for 23 years.

Mind in Haringey has announced it will be forced to stop providing advocacy services for adults at the end of this year.

The charity has had the service funded by Haringey Council, but the council now says it will have to make changes due to the Care Act 2014, due to come into force next April.

The council’s contract with Mind will be retendered by Haringey adult services commissioning in December.

A Haringey Council spokesman said: “We are committed to providing first class mental health services to all Haringey residents, which is why, in light of changes in legislation which come into force next April, the council has decided to review this contract to ensure that this service best meets residents’ needs and fully complies with the change in the law.

“As part of this process we will be doing more to provide information and advice to all adult social care users. We look forward to receiving applications from interested partners to help us deliver this work in a way that provides residents with the best possible service at the best value for money.

"In the meantime we have put plans in place with other partners to ensure residents will still be able to access high-quality advocacy support.” 

In a statement on the charity’s website, Diane Arthur, advocacy services manager at Mind, expressed uncertainty over whether the closing advocacy service would be replaced.

She said: “We are unable at this juncture to tell you if there will be a specialist mental health advocacy service included within the specification for the new service, as the tender has not been made available to date.”

Ms Arthur urged people to write to Councillor Pippa Connor, chairman of the adult and health scrutiny panel, and to Councillor Peter Morton, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, to express their concerns.

Cllr Connor said: “This is very worrying news on World Mental Health Day. I have asked the Labour cabinet member to attend the next health scrutiny meeting to account for this decision.

“The Labour-run council must ensure that everyone who uses this service gets the support they need. The overriding priority is to ensure that those with mental health problems are not left without an advocacy service after Christmas.”