Derbyshire opposition councillors lose bid to force Cabinet to reconsider selling further care home

Opposition councillors have been unsuccessful in their bid to force cash-strapped Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet to reconsider its decision to sell-off a ninth care home as part of the authority’s latest controversial changes to adult social care services.

The Conservative-controlled council’s Cabinet previously agreed in November to sell eight care homes and close five day centres for the elderly and its latest decision in February to put the Ada Belfield care home, in Belper, up for transfer on the open market was called-in by opposition councillors to be examined at a scrutiny committee meeting.

Labour Group Leader, Cllr Joan Dixon, argued at the meeting on March 17th, the council’s Cabinet report on Ada Belfield had failed to consider alternatives, that the decision had been made without sufficient financial detail and it had been based on saving money to avoid a Section 114 Notice usually issued to councils in financial crisis.

She stated: “Without this information, the Cabinet cannot demonstrate that it had regard to all relevant information or that it took account of all other realistic alternatives.”

Cllr Dixon argued the Cabinet had not demonstrated a clarity of aims and desired outcomes because it cannot say what savings will be made or what profits or losses might result from the transfer of the Ada Belfield care home building.

She argued the loss of Ada Belfield care home to the council would leave the authority without an in-house presence in this care market and leave it subject to new pressures.

In addition, Cllr Dixon claimed the Cabinet report had failed to consider other alternatives or models of service delivery including a cooperative approach or a non-profit or third sector provision that would allow the authority to retain ownership of the building for the taxpayer while still providing high quality residential care.

She also claimed that a six-week public consultation into the plans for Ada Belfield had provided an inadequate timeframe for responses after it was held over the festive season.

The Labour Group Leader, Labour Cllrs Dave Allen and Ron Mihaly, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Ed Fordham and Lib Dem Cllr Paul Niblock, and Green Party Cllr Gez Kinsella all requested that the Cabinet’s decision be called-in and considered by the scrutiny committee.

Cllr Kinsella argued there had been a lack of information made available during the decision-making process and that primary care networks and surgeries had not been considered during the consultation and he questioned whether all the possible options for the care home had been fully considered.

Derbyshire County Council, which is managing a multi-million pound budget deficit, has explained it is refocusing its adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claims is a decline in demand for residential care after already agreeing to sell eight care homes and close five day centres for the elderly.

Cllr Natalie Hoy, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, (pictured right, courtesy of the Local Democracy Reporting Service) told the meeting the financial climate around Local Government continues to be challenging and it is expected to remain so for a significant period so it is important to be able to provide a sustainable service and this has involved exploring options for services which the council does not have a statutory-obligation to provide.

She added that the Cabinet believes sufficient information was provided during its decision-making process and its rationale was clearly set out with alternative options and its decision was based on need and demand.

Cllr Hoy said the Cabinet decision had not been purely a financial one but was based on the up-to-date needs of Derbyshire residents who are living longer and have more acute needs particularly with an increase in dementia so there is greater need for wrap-around support.

She also echoed her previous claims that the council needs to focus more on dementia care and helping others with ‘reablement’ to ensure quicker hospital discharges while achieving greater independence for patients.

Cllr Hoy stressed the Cabinet was also aware that people likely to be affected by any changes needed resolution so it would not have been appropriate to have delayed the consultation which featured drop-in-sessions, a questionnaire, face-to-face meetings and online meetings.

She added that whichever provider takes over the running of Ada Belfield they will have to have had experience to a good or outstanding standard and there will be a legal agreement that long-term residents will be able to stay at the home at no extra cost.

When Liberal Democrat Cllr Sue Burfoot asked how many people in the consultation had wholly agreed with the council’s plan, a council officer said most people who responded were directly affected as a resident or as a family member and they were ‘not necessarily inclined’ to agree with the proposals.

Conservative Cllr Tony Kemp said if the Government, regardless of political party, had addressed the growing problems of elderly care in the past the council might not be in its current position but it has no alternative other than to go ahead with its plan.

He added: “We have to get on with it and we cannot put these people through the waiting period any longer.”

Councillors voted by a majority in support of the Cabinet’s decision and the Scrutiny Committee Chairman concluded the Cabinet had followed correct procedure and there had been no breach concerning its decision to cease long-term, respite and reablement beds at Ada Belfield and offer the home for transfer on the open market as a going concern.

The award-winning Ada Belfield was opened only four years ago at a cost of over £11m but Derbyshire Conservatives argued the care home faced a projected overall loss of over £2m and they said its sale would be with an ‘uninterrupted continuum of care throughout the sale process and beyond’.

UNISON Derbyshire branch secretary Martin Porter said: “Selling off the Ada Belfield Centre is terrible news for vulnerable Derbyshire residents and their families —ignoring the thousands of people who have marched, petitioned, and pleaded for it to remain in public hands.”

Belper Together campaigners had submitted a petition with over 5,000 names and held a protest with others outside the council’s County Hall, at Matlock, in February, to highlight their opposition to the plan.

UNISON East Midlands regional organiser Dave Ratchford said: “This is yet another step towards the dismantling of publicly-run social care in Derbyshire, with the council prioritising short-term cost-cutting over the long-term needs of our communities. Private firms don’t put people before profit, and the residents who rely on these services deserve better.”

The Cabinet has also approved plans in February to cease operating long-term residential and respite care at The Staveley Centre, at Middlecroft, and Thomas Fields Care Centre, in Buxton, so these two homes can be converted to focus on rehabilitation beds.    

Derbyshire County Council claims there is a decline in demand for traditional residential care but there is a need for more specialist care for the growing number of people in Derbyshire with dementia.    

Planned changes in the way the council provides in-house care services for older people include creating what it calls ‘wraparound care’ for the growing number with dementia and their carers.