MSP Calls For Councillor Overseeing Social Work To Resign

There has been a call for the councillor overseeing social work services in the Borders to quit her post in the wake of claims that people in need of help are being short-changed as the department struggles to balance its books.

Holyrood MP Christine Grahame yesterday produced SBC figures which showed the council will trim almost £1.1 million from its spending on home-care provision for the vulnerable over a full year. And she has accused council bosses of squirming and shirking their responsibilities.

It follows exposures in TheSouthern of people facing risks and having their life-style clipped because cash for their care has been cut. And the SNP MSP says Tory councillor Carolyne Riddell-Carre should go.

She blasted: “Her position overseeing the social work department is no longer tenable and the time has come for her to take responsibility for these cuts and to resign.”

Councillor Riddell-Carre was out of contact and not available for comment at the time of going to press, and her department would not comment on her behalf. And we have learned that the civil servant at the head of the department, director Andrew Lowe, has been reported by Ms Grahame to the local government ombudsman. She has accused Mr Lowe of making a political attack on her during an interview on Border Television.

The moves are the latest in a series of blistering attacks by the MSP on the department. She has already asked the Care Commission and new independent Social Work Inspection Agencies to launch probes. She claims that – despite council denials – the criteria for changing care hours is cash driven.

Figures obtained by the MSP using Freedom of Information legislation show that the weekly cost of providing home care services prior to changes was £145,808 but that that has now been slashed £125,040.

Ms Grahame hit out: “I had a suspicion from the very outset that this was about taxing vital care provision for vulnerable people in our community and these figures show that is exactly how these changes came about. They mean that the council is saving £20,768 per week, whilst some of the most vulnerable people in our community are left to struggle to carry out the most basic functions of living.”

Figures show that between June last year and the end of January, 1,213 people had their care cover reviewed and that 639 had 2,070 hours cut. However, 616 people had 3,460 hours added – but Ms Grahame says that over a year, £1.08 million of care cover will be scrapped.

She told us: “The council have squirmed and publicly tried to shirk their responsibility. They have been forced into a partial U-turn in one case but it is clear that the assessment criteria they have adopted for what is plainly financial reasons, is not fit for purpose. I believe this assessment was introduced for politically motivated purposes by councillors who have one eye on the election rather than a firm focus on delivering for people in real need of care.”

Councillor Riddell-Carre’s colleague and joint social work portfolio holder Councillor Sandy Scott defended the figures. He told TheSouthern: “I am very pleased indeed with this information. The home care service goes from strength to strength and continues to be highly valued by Borderers. The intensity of the service has increased, more people are supported to live at home and the efficiency of our processes has delivered a saving for the council tax payer.”

Finance leader councillor Neil Calvert also defended the council’s actions. He said: “The SBC administration has supported continued growth in the social work budget and, in return, has made a reasonable expectation of efficiency savings.”

The budget for community care services has increased by 15.5 per cent since 2005/06, going up by £3.1million in 2006 and by a further £1.59million in 2007.

Social work director Andrew Lowe has been reported by Ms Grahame to the watchdog ombudsman following a news report that appeared on Border Television on January 30.

In response to allegations levelled by the MSP at the council, Mr Lowe retorted: “Well, there is an election coming, isn’t there.” But paid council officials are barred from making political comments.

A spokesman for SBC said Mr Lowe’s comment had to be taken in the context of the interview. It is not yet known if Ms Grahame’s requests for Care Commission and Inspectorate reviews into what she described as a systematic failure in the criteria being applied by the social work department will be granted.