Moray carers assured their council funding will continue

MORAY carers were last night assured that the council-funded services they receive are safe. The pledge came after it emerged that the social care charity Quarriers, which is poised to take over the running of carers’ services in Moray, withdrew its support to Argyll and Bute Council over a funding wrangle.

Moray Council yesterday confirmed that the charity will start a three-year contract with them on April 1, as planned.

Quarriers, a Renfrewshire-based charity with more than 1,800 staff and a turnover of £40million, will have a dedicated helpline and offer a counselling and assessment service to carers.

David Williams, service director of Quarriers, said: “It’s an entirely different situation in Moray.

“From my perspective, carers in Moray should be extremely reassured in terms of the level of funding and commitment from their council.

“This is a significant service that’s been well-funded and provides us at Quarriers with a very high degree of confidence.”

Performance figures reveal that Moray Council has missed all the targets that it set in terms of carers’ assessments since April 2008.

Mr Williams said assessments would be Quarrier’s key focus of work.

“We will be making sure that they are having their needs assessed to give formal recognition to all the carers out there,” he said. Quarriers will replace the Moray Carers Project, which has been offering counseling and activities for carers as well as respite breaks to those who look after a family member or friend with a disability or illness.

Moray Council sparked controversy among some carers when it withdrew its funding to Moray Carers in favour of Quarriers.

There were some fears that Quarriers would not provide the same activities that the carers were used to.

But Glynis Elgey, of Quarriers, said that, while she could not confirm the activities would continue, the charity understood the needs of carers and would work towards meeting their needs.