29th November 2009
Pressure is mounting on City of Edinburgh Council to listen to the cities most vulnerable people, and provide a decent rate of payment to buy good quality services.
Following their defeat on the 19th November, the Councils Finance and Resources Committee will meet on the 3rd December, to look again at the proposed tender of care services in Edinburgh .
At the general council meeting service users, many of whom had attended protests in the lead up to the meeting, were assured that the freeze on Direct Payments would be lifted and claims would be processed, giving them the ability to choose who provides their service.
Highlighting the serious and growing dissatisfaction with the council’s plans, 533 people have now applied for a direct payment in order to opt out of the tendering process and continue with their current provider.
The concern for people now is that the Direct Payment will be set at the rate of the winning tender, which is too low to buy the quality services that they currently use, and will in effect force them into the care of the private companies who won the tender. This has angered service users and campaign groups, who were assured that Direct Payments would offer real choice.
A representative of Edinburgh ’s Support Workers Action Network (SWAN) pointed out that;
“Originally the council was aiming to make 10% cuts, but have cynically used the protests against the blocking of Direct Payments to make further savings of 20%”
Many of the organisations which lost out in the tender could absorb a 10% cut, but would be unable to continue under the proposed cuts, forcing their service users to choose between a handful of cheap alternatives.
A recent study of the effects of tendering Social Care services, commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by Strathclyde University , found that a common effect of tendering is the loss of experienced, motivated staff.
The Council repeats its assurances that continuity of care would be maintained with existing staff transferring under TUPE regulations, but for many of the cities support workers this is not an option.
A support worker from SWAN said;
“The company that stands to win the biggest contract if this tendering process is allowed to go ahead is Choices Care. They pay their staff £6.05 per hour. There is no way you can retain good, dedicated, qualified staff over a long period of time if the role of support worker is devalued to barely above minimum wage. This would be disastrous for us and the people we support”.
The Council and the voluntary sector have invested in recent years, to create a well trained and qualified social care workforce. This is at risk of being lost, as private companies move in to take on voluntary sector contracts. Edinburgh campaign group SWAN have begun a petition, calling on the Council to set Direct Payment rates at a level which can sustain reasonable pay and conditions for frontline staff who have mortgages to pay and families to support.
The petition, signed by almost 200 people, states;
"Social care support workersplay a vital role in the provision of housing support services....It is essential that they receive a reasonable, living wage that takes into account the skilled, specialist nature of their work."
Amidst all the talk of savings it is easy to forget that the Council claims its primary motivation for putting services out to tender was to improve quality, quoting 70% quality to 30% cost.
So far the Council has avoided too much focus on the quality issue, particularly after it was revealed that the report produced by the independent care standards agency the Care Commission accounted for just 4% of the quality assessment. The rest being made up of the Councils in-house assessment criteria.
A major finding of the Strathclyde research was that the public were kept in the dark about how crucial decisions were being made, a mistake Edinburgh Council is clearly repeating.
The report stated that service users and support organisations;
“request greater transparency from local authorities with regard to why tenders are won and lost, and the balance between cost and quality in the final decision.”
Thursday’s meeting offers Edinburgh Council another chance to provide decent care services for its most vulnerable people, with service users and support workers ready for a long battle if they fail to deliver on their promises.
Monday 30 November 2009
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Sunday 22 November 2009
COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION SUFFERS FIRST EVER DEFEAT AS SOCIAL CARE SERVICE-USERS CLAIM VICTORY
On Thursday "People power" forced City of Edinburgh Council to suspend its plan "to sell 777 of the city's most vulnerable residents to the lowest bidder." Hundreds packed into the City Chambers on 19 November as the Council voted to suspend till 3rd December its plan to remove Care and Support services from existing local providers.
A support worker from SWAN stated "It was a great victory but now we have a busy two weeks ahead until the next decision day of 3rd December. " The Finance and Resources Committee meets at 10am that day to decide the future of hundreds of people with serious mental and physical disabilities.
Carers and service users condemned the Council's money-saving plan as a drastic attack on the quality of life for such people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions and hearing impairments. Many of those directly under attack participated in the lobby wearing "I'm not for sale" T shirts.
Deputation after deputation denounced the sell-off to the full Council meeting.
"My daughter is profoundly handicapped. She can't talk or walk. She's incontinent. She's in a wheelchair, she has fits. When we take her to the Doctor she screams in pain, and we have to try and work out what's wrong, she can't tell us. She needs trained professionals to care for her. We are very pleased with the care she's getting now. You can't pull people off the streets on the minimum wage and expect them to care for people with these kinds of disabilities." said a speaker from Share Scotland
This and other contributions were met with loud applause from the packed public gallery and the equally packed overflow room, where an estimated 300 people avidly followed the proceedings through loudspeakers.
NO CHOICE NO CARE
One support worker in attendance said:
“The company that stands to win the biggest contract if this tendering process is allowed to go ahead is Choices Care. They pay their staff £6.05 per hour. There is no way you can retain good, dedicated, qualified staff over a long period of time if the role of support worker is devalued to barely above minimum wage. This would be disastrous for us and the people we support”.
Ian Hood from Learning Disability Alliance Scotland pointed out that Companies who had won the Council contracts had been rated by the Care Commission as "barely adequate" and "must improve".
A user of learning disability services stated in a letter to LibDem councillor Jim Lowrie:
“I want my staff to keep on working with me. Don’t make them go away. Leave the staff alone and let them get on with their work”.
Edinburgh Support Workers Action Network : " The Council's proposal aims to wipe out several local voluntary sector organisations that provide good quality specialised services and replace them wth 8 companies, the biggest winners being low cost, large scale private companies with questionable track records (one was the subject of a Panorama documentary entitled Britain's Homecare Scandal.)"
"What's proposed is a cut of over 30%. The contracts awarded mean a cut of 21%, then the companies concerned will take at least another 10% profits on top of that." explained the speaker from SHARE Scotland.
DIRECT PAYMENTS DENIED
People who need care have a legal right to "Direct Payments" to enable them to pay for the kind of care that they choose themselves. But the City of Edinburgh Council has been refusing to pay out these Direct Payments, to try and force people into the arms of the profit-driven winners of the tendering process.
The outrage at this policy has now forced the Council to partially back down. The amendment passed at today's Council meeting declares that the Council will now process Direct Payments applications.
But the crucial question of the level of payments that they will pay has still to be decided. competitive tender bids" it has received.
WHAT DOES THE COUNCIL DECISION MEAN?
Learning Disability Alliance Scotland summarised the main points of the successful amendment passed yesterday as:
* 2 weeks for another report
* Major issues on the direct payments to be addressed
* Other councillors like Lesley Hinds will be critically involved in directing officials.
* No guarantees but there will be more options.
The amendment was backed in the Council meeting by Labour, the Greens, and the Conservatives, and with Liberal Democrat counsellor Gary Peacock abstaining due to financial interest, this proved enough to outvote the ruling Liberal Democrat - SNP coalition and inflict their first defeat since taking power 2 ½ years ago.
http://www.indymediascotland.org/sites/default/files/care%20in%20pink.JPG
ACT NOW
Edinburgh Support Worker Action Network declare:
"The Council was not so worried about cutting costs when it bailed out its "arms length" property companies to the tune of £70 million.
We have to make them change their priorities.
Otherwise, in years to come, we will be watching TV documentaries, reading newspaper articles about how appalling these services have become, how they are wrecking lives, as has been the case in care of the elderly in many places.
And we will wonder how this was allowed to happen.
We must act now before it's too late."
Edinburgh Support Workers Action Network
http://www.swanedinburgh.org.uk/ swanedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
Learning Disability Alliance Scotland http://www.ldascotland.org/
Edinburgh Homecare Campaign http://edinburghhomecarecampaign.wordpress.com/
Full text of the amendment agreed at the Council meeting on 19 November at http://www.ldascotland.org/
A support worker from SWAN stated "It was a great victory but now we have a busy two weeks ahead until the next decision day of 3rd December. " The Finance and Resources Committee meets at 10am that day to decide the future of hundreds of people with serious mental and physical disabilities.
Carers and service users condemned the Council's money-saving plan as a drastic attack on the quality of life for such people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions and hearing impairments. Many of those directly under attack participated in the lobby wearing "I'm not for sale" T shirts.
Deputation after deputation denounced the sell-off to the full Council meeting.
"My daughter is profoundly handicapped. She can't talk or walk. She's incontinent. She's in a wheelchair, she has fits. When we take her to the Doctor she screams in pain, and we have to try and work out what's wrong, she can't tell us. She needs trained professionals to care for her. We are very pleased with the care she's getting now. You can't pull people off the streets on the minimum wage and expect them to care for people with these kinds of disabilities." said a speaker from Share Scotland
This and other contributions were met with loud applause from the packed public gallery and the equally packed overflow room, where an estimated 300 people avidly followed the proceedings through loudspeakers.
NO CHOICE NO CARE
One support worker in attendance said:
“The company that stands to win the biggest contract if this tendering process is allowed to go ahead is Choices Care. They pay their staff £6.05 per hour. There is no way you can retain good, dedicated, qualified staff over a long period of time if the role of support worker is devalued to barely above minimum wage. This would be disastrous for us and the people we support”.
Ian Hood from Learning Disability Alliance Scotland pointed out that Companies who had won the Council contracts had been rated by the Care Commission as "barely adequate" and "must improve".
A user of learning disability services stated in a letter to LibDem councillor Jim Lowrie:
“I want my staff to keep on working with me. Don’t make them go away. Leave the staff alone and let them get on with their work”.
Edinburgh Support Workers Action Network : " The Council's proposal aims to wipe out several local voluntary sector organisations that provide good quality specialised services and replace them wth 8 companies, the biggest winners being low cost, large scale private companies with questionable track records (one was the subject of a Panorama documentary entitled Britain's Homecare Scandal.)"
"What's proposed is a cut of over 30%. The contracts awarded mean a cut of 21%, then the companies concerned will take at least another 10% profits on top of that." explained the speaker from SHARE Scotland.
DIRECT PAYMENTS DENIED
People who need care have a legal right to "Direct Payments" to enable them to pay for the kind of care that they choose themselves. But the City of Edinburgh Council has been refusing to pay out these Direct Payments, to try and force people into the arms of the profit-driven winners of the tendering process.
The outrage at this policy has now forced the Council to partially back down. The amendment passed at today's Council meeting declares that the Council will now process Direct Payments applications.
But the crucial question of the level of payments that they will pay has still to be decided. competitive tender bids" it has received.
WHAT DOES THE COUNCIL DECISION MEAN?
Learning Disability Alliance Scotland summarised the main points of the successful amendment passed yesterday as:
* 2 weeks for another report
* Major issues on the direct payments to be addressed
* Other councillors like Lesley Hinds will be critically involved in directing officials.
* No guarantees but there will be more options.
The amendment was backed in the Council meeting by Labour, the Greens, and the Conservatives, and with Liberal Democrat counsellor Gary Peacock abstaining due to financial interest, this proved enough to outvote the ruling Liberal Democrat - SNP coalition and inflict their first defeat since taking power 2 ½ years ago.
http://www.indymediascotland.org/sites/default/files/care%20in%20pink.JPG
ACT NOW
Edinburgh Support Worker Action Network declare:
"The Council was not so worried about cutting costs when it bailed out its "arms length" property companies to the tune of £70 million.
We have to make them change their priorities.
Otherwise, in years to come, we will be watching TV documentaries, reading newspaper articles about how appalling these services have become, how they are wrecking lives, as has been the case in care of the elderly in many places.
And we will wonder how this was allowed to happen.
We must act now before it's too late."
Edinburgh Support Workers Action Network
http://www.swanedinburgh.org.uk/ swanedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
Learning Disability Alliance Scotland http://www.ldascotland.org/
Edinburgh Homecare Campaign http://edinburghhomecarecampaign.wordpress.com/
Full text of the amendment agreed at the Council meeting on 19 November at http://www.ldascotland.org/
Friday 20 November 2009
Swan Edinburgh Meeting 15.11.09
Swan Edinburgh Second Meeting 15.11.09
We had presence from Garvald Edinburgh, Learning Disability Alliance, Unite union, Inclusion Alliance and Thistle Foundation.
* Update: First Ian Hood gave an update on the current situation re: tendering.
777 people are affected by the first phase of the tendering. That process aimed to help the council to make saving on their budget. There was almost no consultation with the service users with regard to the tendering. Only 8 service users were consulted in only two meetings back at the end of last year.
170 applied for Direct payment only 70 were awarded and the rest around 100 were in the process before the Council Decision to freeze DP.
The main concern is what choice people have in deciding about care provision.
Furthermore what about people who do not want or can not have Direct Payments. What choice do they have? We hope to have a shift in the council decision regarding the Direct payment and then challenge the Council about rates, the issue of choice etc.
If we have most of the hours that were up for tendering shifted to Direct Payment it could consequently stop the tendering, as there would not be much to tender for.
Many service users from most of the organisations who are affected by the tendering have sent a letter of intention to receive Direct Payment. The transition between the bidder and the current provider is also expected to be very problematic for service users and support workers. The rate that was given for Direct payment is not sufficient for people’s needs and quality of provision.
At the Council on Thurs meeting there will be a motion from the labour, and deputations from parents, organisations and service users. We aim to have a variety of voices to attack the issue from all angle. The Petition will also be presented at the Council meeting.
* We should try to have as much people as we can at the Demo on thurs. We are also allowed in the European room at the chambers where it will be possible to listen to the debate on the tendering paper..
* Unite member advised all support workers who are affected by the tendering to join a union so they can get legal advice to defend their employee rights with the Tupe legislation. It is thought that if enough staff assert their rights under TUPE the contracts will not be viable for the winning providers.
We will aim to contact the unions to see if we can get more support workers to join.
* We will organise a contact sheet to have support workers from a wide range of organisations to join our campaign.
* We will organise a stall for Mon, Tues between 12 and 6pm. We will continue with the petition and hand over leaflets to inform the public about our campaign. We agreed to have the writing “People are not for sale” in front of the desk.
* Next Meeting on Sunday 7pm.
We had presence from Garvald Edinburgh, Learning Disability Alliance, Unite union, Inclusion Alliance and Thistle Foundation.
* Update: First Ian Hood gave an update on the current situation re: tendering.
777 people are affected by the first phase of the tendering. That process aimed to help the council to make saving on their budget. There was almost no consultation with the service users with regard to the tendering. Only 8 service users were consulted in only two meetings back at the end of last year.
170 applied for Direct payment only 70 were awarded and the rest around 100 were in the process before the Council Decision to freeze DP.
The main concern is what choice people have in deciding about care provision.
Furthermore what about people who do not want or can not have Direct Payments. What choice do they have? We hope to have a shift in the council decision regarding the Direct payment and then challenge the Council about rates, the issue of choice etc.
If we have most of the hours that were up for tendering shifted to Direct Payment it could consequently stop the tendering, as there would not be much to tender for.
Many service users from most of the organisations who are affected by the tendering have sent a letter of intention to receive Direct Payment. The transition between the bidder and the current provider is also expected to be very problematic for service users and support workers. The rate that was given for Direct payment is not sufficient for people’s needs and quality of provision.
At the Council on Thurs meeting there will be a motion from the labour, and deputations from parents, organisations and service users. We aim to have a variety of voices to attack the issue from all angle. The Petition will also be presented at the Council meeting.
* We should try to have as much people as we can at the Demo on thurs. We are also allowed in the European room at the chambers where it will be possible to listen to the debate on the tendering paper..
* Unite member advised all support workers who are affected by the tendering to join a union so they can get legal advice to defend their employee rights with the Tupe legislation. It is thought that if enough staff assert their rights under TUPE the contracts will not be viable for the winning providers.
We will aim to contact the unions to see if we can get more support workers to join.
* We will organise a contact sheet to have support workers from a wide range of organisations to join our campaign.
* We will organise a stall for Mon, Tues between 12 and 6pm. We will continue with the petition and hand over leaflets to inform the public about our campaign. We agreed to have the writing “People are not for sale” in front of the desk.
* Next Meeting on Sunday 7pm.
The Amendment which was agreed by the Council yesterday and what it means?
The outcome of yesterdays meeting was that the papers approving the tender and direct payment rates were not approved. The opportunity to enter into some debate over a two week period and possibly get an extention to this was facilitated by a Labour Green amendment that was supported by conservatives.
Organisations are already in contact looking at how any talks with the council can be set and what proposals might be able to be progressed.
Please see LDA summary and amendment attached as these provide a good summary of the outcome and amendment.
At the Edinburgh Council meeting today the Labour amendment was passed by 29 votes to 28. That means there is now a pause for breath while councils officials rush about doing what they should have done long ago.
The amendment is attached for your interest. My detailed understanding of this is as follows:
1. There will be a series of meetings this week organised by the Chief Executive of the CEC to look at the amendment and plan a campaign to meet its requirements.
2. All political parties will be involved in this and therefore there will be a number of different objectives to be met from the final report. The contract award will not be dead in the water, the Conservatives still want some residual progress on this.
3. Reps from the political parties will meet with service users and carers and organisations to discuss how concerns can be resolved. Since these concerns principally now are around is the money sufficient, there needs to be movement on 10 below. [The organisations are not likely to be anyone who tendered except in so far as they reflect the views of service users. It is legitimate to have a group called XXXX service users and carers group]
4. All people who apply for a Direct Payment will have their hours totalled and withdrawn from the contract award.
5. They will continue with their current provider on the usual basis until the Direct Payment is approved.
6. The date of Dec 3rd for this to take place no longer applies- we do not know what will happen with this. [But I would recommend that all applications are put in sooner rather than later. In the spirit of “partnership” it will allow better planning if they are in asap. If any organisation/service user groups/advocacy groups has problems supporting people in making this choice, then the council should be able to help.]
7. The question of choice for those who don’t want to be transferred but can’t get or don’t want a DP will be considered. Suggestions on this will be helpful.
8. All remaining hours are likely to be put into new contracts – the officials have stated that they do not have to award all contracts but those that they do should be in the region of 800 to 1200 hours per week.
9. The paper cutting Direct Payment rates to a new level does not apply - therefore there are no current proposals to reduce the level of Direct Payments.
10. This issue of the rate and how it will be set will be addressed by the later report. [This is an issues that it would be best for the CEOs to consider collectively in order to have a positive suggestion that will help the council officials decide what is to happen. It would be best that this takes places through the good offices of CCPS if that is possible.]
11. There was a lot of talk that 21% of a cut was too much when only 4% was mentioned as applying to internal services. Therefore while there will have to be a cut from the rates current it will be less than 21%, but probably higher than the target 10% for the tender project.
12. Winning bidders will be approached and asked to consider extending the 240 day validity of their tender. This runs out on Dec 5th and is one of the reasons for the hurry in this matter. An extension of 60 days will give more time.
13. There is a need to make sure that there is a voice for service users [A series of meetings need to be organised with service users of different organisations preferably in a collective fashion. This will give them information, advise them of their options and allow a demonstration of what consultation and involvement means. There should probably be some investment in facilitation of these. Some of us have some skills in this already but we should aim at lots of participation and evidence of this – MAPS – PATHS – DVDs and so on. We should invite council staff to come to these as well – equalities officers – Funding Independence people and so on.]
14. Carers too have to be considered in this, especially those of people with greater/complex needs. [see the point in 3 above]
Not all of this has to be done within 2 weeks but now that there is a pause for breath, I believe it is best for service users, their carers and the organisations that support them to take the initiative.
While it may seem this is only a 2 week delay, it is a major step forward in putting person centred service back on the agenda in edinburgh . There is much to do but we can do it.
All the best
Ian Hood
Sorry for any cross posting
City of
Amendment
Full Council Meeting
19th November 2009
Item 7.2a - Contracts for the Provision of Care and Support Services
&
Item 7.2b - Direct Payments: Transitional Arrangements for Care and
Support Services
Council acknowledges the need to extend support to people waiting for Care and Support Services and that therefore efficiency savings need to be made, as well as more investment in such services.
This Council believes, when considering the service provision for the Care and Support packages, choice for clients should be the top priority, and that service quality should not be compromised.
This Council notes that when this tendering process started a target of 10% saving was set. The Council notes that the report at the recent Finance and Resources Committee recommended a 21% saving.
The Council further notes that key decisions on the tendering process for Care and Support Services were taken by officials of the Council and that Direct Payment applications have been suspended with no reference to the Council’s democratic process. This has harmed the reputation of the Council.
The Council finally notes, with regret, that the tendering process has caused concern for the individuals and carers whose service has been put out to tender.
Therefore Council agrees:
- To process the Direct Payment applications which have already been submitted to the Council
- To communicate directly with all clients, informing them that they are entitled to apply for a Direct Payment, and to process all those that are received subsequently
- To offer alternative means of expressing choice in relation to future provision, to all those clients for whom a Direct Payment is not possible or appropriate
Council thus agrees to suspend award of contracts until all the above has been carried out.
Council further agrees that renewed discussions are clearly required with the organisations that represent individuals and carers to resolve their concerns, and that the Spokespersons (of all Parties) for ‘Finance’ and ‘Health and Social Care’ should meet these organisations in order to try to get a resolution to their concerns and thereafter report to a specially convened Finance and Resources Committee at 10am on Thursday 3rd December on the outcome of those discussions.
At the Finance and Resources Committee the report above should also include:
- The communications strategy for the award of Care and Support packages
- Details of the choices or alternatives that might be available for those who do not want a Direct Payment or who are not eligible for one
- The number of Direct Payments likely to be agreed and the effect this might have on the contracting process
- The rates for Direct Payments
- Evidence that service quality will not be compromised in any transfer of service to new providers
- Proposals to consult with service users about the quality and effectiveness of the services they receive and ways of improving those services
- Legal ramifications taking into account the decisions above
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Swan Edinburgh Info 16.11.09
EDINBURGH SUPPORT WORKER'S
ACTION NETWORK
Budget cuts and competitive tendering threaten to wreck social care services in Edinburgh depriving service-users of quality and choice and reducing the role of support worker to a minimum wage, unskilled role.
Its time to stand up for our jobs and our service-users.
Next organising meeting;
7pm Sunday 22nd November 2009
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh,
17 West Montgomery Place,
EH7 5HA
At the first meeting of the Support Worker’s Action Network (SWAN) it was agreed that our main objectives would be to campaign for the City of Edinburgh Council to;
- Stop blocking Direct Payments
- Abandon competitive tendering as a way of selecting service providers
- Guarantee adequate funding to enable genuine service-user choice
and retain well trained, good quality staff
We aim to create a network of frontline staff from across organisations and workplaces and to organise against the attacks on service-user choice and staff pay and conditions posed by the current tendering process.
Contact - swanedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
ACTION NETWORK
Budget cuts and competitive tendering threaten to wreck social care services in Edinburgh depriving service-users of quality and choice and reducing the role of support worker to a minimum wage, unskilled role.
Its time to stand up for our jobs and our service-users.
Next organising meeting;
7pm Sunday 22nd November 2009
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh,
17 West Montgomery Place,
EH7 5HA
At the first meeting of the Support Worker’s Action Network (SWAN) it was agreed that our main objectives would be to campaign for the City of Edinburgh Council to;
- Stop blocking Direct Payments
- Abandon competitive tendering as a way of selecting service providers
- Guarantee adequate funding to enable genuine service-user choice
and retain well trained, good quality staff
We aim to create a network of frontline staff from across organisations and workplaces and to organise against the attacks on service-user choice and staff pay and conditions posed by the current tendering process.
Contact - swanedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
Our Information Leaflet
EDINBURGH’S MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS
BEING SOLD TO THE LOWEST BIDDER
STOP SOCIAL CARE CUTS AND TENDERING
Between 2004 and 2008 the City of Edinburgh Council slashed its ‘Supporting People’ budget by 20%.
Despite this they have now launched an unprecedented attack on the vital services many people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions and hearing impairments depend on.
On the 27th October the Council made public its plans to sell of the services of 777 people to the lowest bidder. The move aims to wipe out several local voluntary sector organisations that provide good quality specialised services and replace then with 8 companies, the biggest winners being low cost, large scale private companies with questionable track records.
However, the Council has a legal obligation to allow service-users to ask for a ‘Direct Payment’ enabling them to choose there service provider.
As the full scale of the Council’s disastrous plans became clear hundreds of people set about doing just that.
The Council’s response?
Block service-users from getting Direct Payments.
However, in the face of a massive outcry and public protest from service-users, parents/carers and support staff the Council appeared to be backing down.
They now seem to be saying they will allow some Direct Payments to be processed, enabling service-users to choose who supports them in their daily lives.
A victory for Edinburgh’s most vulnerable in their battle against the City Council?
Or is their a catch?
Those familiar with the City of Edinburgh Council will have guessed it.
There is a catch.
The Council intends to set a new rate for Direct Payments that is in line with the ‘most competetive tender bids’ it has received.
So people can choose to have a Direct Payment and therefore will be able to choose their service.
However, they will only be able to choose from the cheapest options on offer;
Low cost, large scale private companies with poor track records.
This is what the City of Edinburgh Council calls choice.
Many current service-users want a Direct Payment so they can continue to work with their support staff with which they have built up good relationships on a daily basis over a number of years.
The Council will not let this happen. The funding rates they have set will not be able to pay for good quality support services. They are intent on cutting costs whatever the human cost.
We must not allow this to happen.
Some of you may have noticed that the Council was not so worried about cutting costs when it bailed out its “arms length” property companies to the tune of £70million.
We have to make them change their priorities.
Otherwise, in years to come, we will be watching TV documentaries, reading newspaper articles about how appalling these services have become, how they are wrecking lives, as has been the case in care of the elderly in many places.
And we will wonder how this was allowed to happen.
We must act now before its too late.
To find out more or to get involved go to
www.swanedinburgh.org.uk or www.ldascotland.org
Produced by Edinburgh Support Worker’s Action Network
Contact us at swanedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
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