Sir, The very painful decision to close Ivor Newton House by October 2009 (report, Sept 15) was reached after an exhaustive review of the Musicians Benevolent Fund’s provision of support to its more than 800 beneficiaries and after wide consultation. The trustees concluded they could not justify deploying about 30 per cent of the MBF’s welfare spend to just 2 per cent of its beneficiaries when others are able to provide more suitable facilities for them at half the cost to the MBF. The MBF will continue generously to support the small group of residents remaining in the home. It has offered all of them accommodation in a new home being built nearby. It has also offered them individual funding for trial periods in two other homes of their choice, if they prefer.

The MBF is absolutely committed to helping musicians of every age. This requires ever greater resources. I would like to thank our many donors for their generous support and hope that many more will give and also include MBF in their wills, as a simple way of remembering those who have given us all such pleasure but who are now in need.

Further information about the MBF’s work and how to donate is available at www.mbf.org.uk

Richard Lyttelton
Chairman, Musicians Benevolent Fund

Sir, What the recent article didn’t mention is that we have been struggling in recent years to fill the home. There are at present only 14 residents in Ivor Newton House, which has accommodation for 21, and only about half are musicians or dependants, as we relaxed our entry criteria to try to boost numbers.

By contrast, we are currently supporting 50 people in other residential care homes across the country, who have preferred to stay close to where they live or near family and friends. Many of these are receiving nursing or dementia care, which Ivor Newton House can not offer. We also support people preferring to stay in their own homes.

The Musicians Benevolent Fund is currently giving direct help to more than 800 people and there has been a steady rise in overall demand. More than half of our beneficiaries are over 60 years of age and an ageing population will exacerbate this. We are a totally independent charity relying on donations. A large portion of our funds is tied up in trusts ring-fenced for specific uses. Much of the remainder is earmarked for the long-term support of beneficiaries, many of whom will need our help for the rest of their lives. As a charity we have an obligation to ensure that our resources are used effectively and responsibly for the greatest benefit of all our beneficiaries.

Experts in the care sector advised us that a long drawn-out closure period would not be good for residents and the home will not close until October next year. We know that this will be a daunting time for residents and staff, which is why we have put together packages of support to help them during the closure period and beyond. We are providing training opportunities for staff and a range of options for residents. One option is for all residents to move together to a brand new residential wing of a care home being built in Tunbridge Wells. However, there does not seem to be much interest in this and some residents are already taking the opportunity to have trial periods, paid for by the MBF, at other care homes of their choice.

Musicians and other interested parties who have been given the background to the closure have fully understood why we very reluctantly decided to close the home. If anyone would like a copy of this information they should go to our website

Jackie Conn
Director of Communications and Development, Musicians Benevolent Fund

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