Angus mental health group excluded from providing services

Angus Mental Health Association will no longer be considered in the local authority’s mental health tendering process.

For several years the association has had a service provision agreement with Angus Council, for which it received a six-figure funding package.

That agreement was jeopardised when it was revealed that, due to a new tendering process, its application was not considered sufficient.

The full Angus Council met last night to approve a report recommending excluding Angus Mental Health Association (AMHA) from the tendering process. The item was moved up the agenda after more than 50 protesters gathered outside Town and County Hall in Forfar.

The AMHA service users were trying to persuade councillors to include the association in the tendering process. Before the council could vote, however, Forfar and District councillor Glennis Middleton tabled an amendment to withdraw the report and include AMHA in the next stage of the tendering process. Ms Middleton said: “I have the highest regard for the director of social work and health and believe he has followed the processes and procedures correctly but I know right from wrong and to me it is wrong to exclude a local organisation that has provided a good level of service for so long.

“The amendment was seconded by Brechin and Edzell councillor Mairi Evans, who said: “The service users are happy with the service provision they are currently receiving. AMHA are doing a good job and the service must be kept as local and familiar as possible.”

The council’s legal adviser told councillors that adding AMHA to the list of tenders would breach EU guidance, and the amendment was rejected by five votes.

Ms Middleton then tabled a second amendment that a decision on the report be deferred while an urgent review of the evaluation process that led to AMHA’s exclusion be reviewed – but it was also rejected by five votes.

The council’s social work and health convener, Alison Andrews, said the council was committed to providing good mental health services throughout the county and that spending on the service had risen from £274,000 in 2008-09 to £323,000 in 2009-10. Four organisations will now tender for the delivery of mental health services in Angus.

Community Integrated Care, Cornerstone UK, Mental Health Matters and Penumbra have all met the pre-qualifying requirements.

AMHA chairman Ron Scrimegour said: “The councillors said they had confidence in the report but the way the report was written was misleading. We will now refer this on to the local government ombudsman.”