York Council’s adult social services boss refuses to resign over budget row

A CALL has been made for the man in charge of York’s cash-strapped network of care for vulnerable people to quit as it faces going over budget by £1.1 million.

But City of York Council’s executive member for adult social services, Coun John Morley, said he would not resign as plans for savings – which could include redundancies and cuts in respite care – emerge.

Increased demand on the department’s services mean it is set for a huge overspend, and Coun James Alexander – who also chairs the authority’s health overview and scrutiny committee – has now urged Coun Morley to stand down.

He claimed Coun Morley’s decision not to attend a meeting of the scrutiny committee earlier this month to provide information about adult social care finances and the potential impact of the overspend was “a dereliction of duty” and hampered the chance of finding ways of easing the problems.

The resignation call came at a Guildhall meeting last night, where Coun Alexander said: “I personally see your lack of action, your refusal to engage and the ducking-out of defending the service areas you are accountable for as a lamentable failure. You have not got to grips with the financial position and this leads me to the conclusion that you are either incompetent or a fall-guy for the council’s executive. “Either way, I believe you have wasted the time you have spent in your executive role, as well as the time and effort of the health scrutiny committee.”

But Coun Morley said the looming overall council budget meeting meant he could not have answered questions on finances, and that the scrutiny committee’s lack of comment on possible savings was “an opportunity missed”.

“They had all the information I could possibly give them on the overspend, and to pretend that my presence at a meeting was essential to get to the bottom of the issue is disingenuous,” he said.

“I don’t plan to resign and I’m surprised Coun Alexander has said this, but I think the political background has to be taken into account. He and his committee could still have done what was asked of it by the executive.”