Care home councillor quits due to husband’s work links

SHE was the top politician who was due to decide the fate of four care homes across Hampshire. But county councillor Anna McNair Scott has resigned as Hampshire’s adult care chief after admitting that she failed to fully disclose her interests.
She has spent several weeks studying plans to axe a series of homes that the authority says would cost £10m to modernise.

They include Nightingale Lodge in Romsey, the Deeside complex near Basingstoke and Cranleigh Paddock, Lyndhurst, the only specialist dementia unit in the New Forest.

Cllr McNair Scott was due to make a decision on whether to replace them with extra care apartments for pensioners.

But the issue over her declaration of interests was raised at a public meeting staged by campaigners battling to save the Deeside complex.

They accused her of failing to reveal that her husband Nigel works for a company which is in partnership with a firm building 179 extra care units in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Now Cllr McNair Scott has admitted breaking the rules and has resigned as the county council’s executive member for adult care.

Referring to her husband’s business link she said: “It has nothing to do with Hampshire and I didn’t think to declare it.

“It was an honest error and was not an attempt to conceal anything.

“But I had a very sensitive decision to make and realised I had to stand down. In public life you have to be extremely careful to disclose everything you should disclose. I should have dotted the Is and crossed the Ts.”

Cllr McNair Scott quit after her breach of the rules was brought to the attention of county council leader Roy Perry.

He raised the issue with Cllr McNair Scott as soon as she returned from an adult and children’s social care conference in Harrogate.

“Anna at once offered her resignation from the Cabinet. She expressed her deep regret at her oversight in failing to provide a complete disclosure of interests, as required in accordance with the county council’s Members’ Code of Conduct,” said Cllr Perry.

Cllr McNair Scott will continue to represent her Candovers ward.

A decision on the future of the care homes, scheduled for November 28, will now be taken by the Cabinet as a whole.