Opposition councillors have been thwarted in a last-gasp attempt to save Wellington House Day Centre from closure by a vote today (Tuesday 29 September).
They asked for the decision to be “called in” but a Brighton and Hove City Council committee decided that no further action was necessary and the closure could go ahead.
The Greens and Conservatives wanted the council’s cabinet to reconsider its decision, which affects some of the most vulnerable adults in Brighton and Hove, or for the matter to be referred to a meeting of the full council.
The call-in request followed a decision to shut the day centre which was made by the council’s cabinet on Thursday 17 September.
The day centre, in Wellington Street, Brighton, is due to close once other day care has been found for all 21 people who currently use the service.
Opposition councillors said that there had not been enough evidence for the council’s cabinet to make its decision, there was insufficient consideration of legal and financial advice and a lack of consultation with stakeholders.
The matter came before the council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Hove Town Hall this afternoon,
Green councillor Ellen McLeay spoke on behalf of her party colleagues and the Conservative leader Alistair McNair.
Their concerns included the lack of additional consultation with the head teachers of special schools – Hill Park, Downs View, Link College and Life Skills College – on the projected future number of young people who may need day services.
Opposition councillors had hoped that more evidence would come from the head teachers before the cabinet vote.
Councillor McLeay said: “Steve Hook (director of adult social care) accepted … that additional evidence would and should be gathered from special schools. Yet cabinet proceeded before that exercise took place.
“Stakeholders such as a head teacher actively reached out and offered information which could have informed the cabinet members on that decision but the evidence-gathering process was not completed before the vote.”
She also raised concerns about the forecast annual saving of £336,000 which could be outweighed by a breakdown in placements. These could potentially cost the council £250,000 a year for each individual.
There was also concern about the recent procurement process for day services which opposition councillors said suggested that the decision had already been made – or “predetermined”.
They raised the issue of contracts for the expanded services which were awarded in July while the consultation was taking place. The contracts went live earlier this month – before the cabinet vote.
Mr Hook said that the contract process went back to February last year because the existing contracts with six day care providers had been in place since 2017 and were due to be retendered.
He told the committee that at no time had Wellington House been mentioned during the process of negotiating the contracts which are worth £12.8 million in total.
Mr Hook said: “There were contract arrangements for our six day service providers. Those contracts were coming to an end and those contracts had to be renewed as part of the commissioning cycle.
“So had there not been a proposal around Wellington House, that recommissioning process would still have gone ahead and there would still be new contracts issued for our day services.”
Labour councillor Mitchie Alexander, the council’s cabinet member for adult social care, said that, of 71 young people leaving children and young people’s services at 25 over the past three years, just one had opted for Wellington House. Those coming to the day centre tended to be older.
Councillor Alexander said that her disabled younger brother, who is in his twenties, attended day services in Tamworth with people of a similar age.
She said: “I know he goes to a place where there’s a lot of other people that are his own age and it’s really nice seeing photographs of him and his peers on a day trip somewhere. The younger people choose places where there are other younger people.”
Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC) interim lead Fiona England said that the organisation was surprised that respite care and short breaks had not been part of the discussion.
She said that parents of young people leaving children’s services this year were not told about Wellington House and had been informed that the day services were full.
One family who had wanted Wellington House had to take another option instead this year but that had since failed.
Mrs England said: “The young person in question has got significant high needs. That placement has failed because the provider says they do not have the skillset to meet this young person’s needs.
“The family remains in limbo now and also had to significantly compromise their ability to work while this situation develops.”
Mr Hook said that he would speak with the heads of special schools and work with PaCC and Amaze.
He also said that the council’s adult social care team had recruited a programme manager for the transition strategy which would come back for scrutiny.
The committee vote was split, with four in favour of turning down the call-in request and four against.
Labour councillor Sam Parrott, who chairs the council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, had the casting vote. She backed the decision made by the council’s cabinet. The call-in request was rejected.
Lest never forget: “Labour councillor Sam Parrott, who chairs the council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, had the casting vote.”
That someone with a disability themselves should betray others with more extreme disabilities is appalling. How these Labour dictators sleep at night is anyone’s guess. Some of them used to be decent human beings. Allegedly.
Or forget that Cllr Bella Sankey had the audacity to post of Facebook earlier today how inspirational the new PMs speech was yesterday, including on social care reform, when just 2 hours later her Labour administration chose to plough on with this dreadful decision which impacts some of the most vulnerable people in our city. It goes to show that it’s all hollow words, because on the ground the Labour-run council clearly just intend to accept cuts and close vital services without a blink of an eye.
The next scheduled general election is years off still, I hate to think how much more damage this council could do between now and 2029.
It is a big place for 21 clients. How many staff ?
Horrific decision and betrayal by local Labour having promised this centre would remain open having shut the Portslade one ten years ago. All in aid of a land grab. The families should sue.
What happens to the building, is it being sold?
Have twice tried to leave a comment but it didn’t allow me to!
Parrott by name, parrot by nature?
One hesitates to be quite so obvious, but when a scrutiny committee divides four votes to four, and its Labour Chair uses her casting vote to uphold the decision of a Labour Cabinet, the temptation is simply too great.
One was under the quaint impression that scrutiny existed to scrutinise, particularly when serious questions remain about consultation, evidence from special schools and the future care of some of our city’s most vulnerable residents.
Perhaps the greater question is whether genuine independent scrutiny can ever flourish when the casting vote belongs to the same political group whose decision is being scrutinised.
Poor Wellington House. Even the parrots appear to be following the party line.
Lady Bracknell, ruffling one’s feathers
What was the vote breakdown by party. Was this another labour whipped vote?
All labour councillors voted together on this, they all voted in support to close Wellington House. One only stayed until that vote was done. Got her hand bag and left.