No public inquiry over Adult Resource Centre charges

CONTROVERSIAL Adult Resource Centre charges are to remain shelved but there will be no public inquiry. A bid to up the stakes in the raging row over billing some of the most vulnerable people in society for help they receive on visits to the centres was blocked at the Dumfries and Galloway Council social work services committee.

Later the Labour group claimed the administration was “rattled” by the spotlight on the whole charging issue and took a swipe at council leader Ivor Hyslop claiming he had botched an attempt to block the debate by incorrectly claiming a procedural motion had been proposed by the administration so no further discussion could take.

The committee agreed to maintain the moratorium on charges pending a full review of the way councillors and officers come to decisions.

That decision-making process lies at the very heart of the row. A mistake in a report to members in March, 2011, said a charge of £16.80 was being levied for ARC service users when it should have said there was no charge. On the back of the report members agreed to an increase of around £3 and the error went undiscovered for more than a year.

Under a Freedom of Information request MP Russell Brown discovered the two senior councillors at the helm, John Dougan and Denis Male, the then chairman and vice-chairman of social work services, were unaware of the charges as late as April this year.

The moratorium decision was taken on the back of a motion from Iain Dick, seconded by Gail McGregor, which said the report before members did not address the many concerns and question raised by all councillors.

Committee chairman Andy Ferguson said: “The committee agreed we expand the remit of the ongoing review of the business and financial processes of the social work department to include a full review of the decision making process and implementation of ARC charges.

“This is a complex issue which is governed by legislation from Westminster and Holyrood as well as our own local policies. There is still a good deal of information to be gathered before we will be in a position to make an informed decision either way.”

Labour’s social work spokesman, David McKie, pictured, accused the administration of presiding over a “charging shambles” and letting ARC users down.

And he went on the offensive: “The council leader (Ivor Hyslop) should be ashamed for trying to shut down any discussion on the matter right at the start of the debate.

“It is clear the Tory-SNP council has been rattled by the bad press coverage they have got this week on ARC charges.

“But rather than try and get to the bottom of this growing scandal they desperately want to keep it covered up.

“In a last minute panic they decided to amend an existing review to also look at ARC charges.

“But this issue is far too serious to just be tagged onto an ongoing review.”

Non-aligned councillor Willie Scobie lost a move to get the charges scrapped altogether.

In a scathing attack on the administration and Labour group he said: “Their positions were essentially the same and neither supported my call for charges to be done away with.

“Most worryingly both of them left service users open to the possibility not just of charges, but of retrospective charges

“Whilst I supported Labour’s call for an inquiry because the process was utterly flawed and the original report in February made no mention of charges, my erstwhile comrades failed even to second my motion to do away with the charges.

“It seems that their need to get one over on me is greater than any principle they may have to support the disabled.”