COUNCIL HIRE LAWYERS & COVER-UP RISK TO VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE

3.37.00pm GMT Fri 27th Feb 2009

Gloucestershire County Council has blocked all attempts to investigate the abuse of vulnerable people in care in the county. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) reported bullying and hate crime against people with learning disabilities. Inspectors discovered vulnerable people are at risk of abuse.

The council has committed undisclosed amounts of taxpayers money to launch a legal action against the Commission in the High Court. The council's legal action makes no attempt to investigate abuse in Gloucestershire.

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Liberal Democrat leader said: "I am appalled the council is ignoring the plight of vulnerable people at risk of abuse in Gloucestershire. The only way to reassure the public that vulnerable and elderly people will not suffer abuse is to investigate the findings of the inspection reports. Huge amounts of taxpayers money will be wasted on hiring lawyers in a desperate attempt to attack the work of the inspectors. One case of abuse is one case too many. The use of lawyers to protect the council's reputation is a callous reaction to the inspection reports on social care. The Tory cabinet must stop this nonsense now and get to the truth about adult social care in the county"

The council social services were downgraded from a two star to a one star authority last year. A follow-up report on February 4th has identified the council performance on safeguarding adults as poor. Some of the key points of the CSCI report are:

Social Care for vulnerable people is poor

Financial abuse of people who sign over control of their finances to care homes and agencies

People with learning disabilities have had to put up with being bullied and victims of hate crime

Young people who move into adult social care are at risk of abuse

Elderly people and their carers are at risk of abuse

At last week's council meeting Liberal Democrat councillors proposed the council investigate the CSCI report findings. The investigations were voted down by the Conservative majority.

Cllr Deryck Nash, Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet member for adult services said: "The commission's report was the most damning I've read in my time as a councillor. The Commission discovered cases of people with learning disabilities who have been bullied and elderly people who have been left stranded without support. The leadership at Shire Hall is disgraceful, the Inspectors report is clear, a new team of cabinet members must take charge of social care to investigate the poor performance that leaves vulnerable people at risk"

Notes:

1. The Commission for Social Care report investigated adult social care services for Safeguarding vulnerable adults and considered services for people with learning disabilities.

2. The Commission declared the council had a poor service for safeguarding adults and official graded a poor service, the lowest grading possible. This follows the failure of Social Services overall which were downgraded from a two-star to a one-star service last year.

3. The report was presented to the cabinet on 4th February, the council did not allow the inspectors to speak to members of the council about the report findings.

4. The current Conservative administration has reversed all of the achievements of the previous Liberal Democrat administration. The previous report on social services praised the work of the Lib Dem administration, which had achieved a 2 star rating and praise from the Inspectors about the future improvements to the service.

5. The Commission report identifies the changes in Adult Social Care policy which are responsible for the decline in care were made in 2007 by the current Conservative administration.

ENDS