Care tendering: 'Council failed to see depth of feeling of clients'

FIRST things first: the city council's decision to abandon plans to put care services out to tender is to be welcomed. But the right outcome has been reached by chance, in a cackhanded way that is no credit to anyone.

An independent report obtained by the Evening News into the handling of the issue reveals that from the outset the whole process was flawed and badly thought-out.

Most damning of all, it accuses the council of putting the aims of the social work department ahead of the needs of the vulnerable people who would be most affected by the changes.

While it is possible to have some sympathy with the council's need to economise in the current financial climate this is not an area they should have gone near without more thought of the consequences for 800 people requiring personal care.

But driven on by officials, who have already been criticised for acting in some instances without the knowledge of councillors, the tendering process was finalised even before final policy decisions had been taken.

Ironically, in trying to save money the council has incurred considerable cost – not least the 80,000 it spent obtaining the independent report on its handling of the affair.

But worse, they have caused considerable anguish to those who feared that they might have to abandon their current arrangements in favour of new private care providers.

The council failed to recognise the depth of feeling among clients and their carers and paid for that lack of foresight by facing a campaign of considerable people power.

In the end, 80 per cent of clients opted for direct payments to make their own arrangements, leaving not enough work for the 11 private firms appointed by the council – giving it no choice other than to backtrack.

Had they listened in the first place they would never have found themselves in this position – and could have avoided a bloody nose which was entirely self-inflicted.

Goodwill gone

AFTER a string of scandals, many in the Labour Party already had a low opinion of Nigel Griffiths. Any goodwill left towards him evaporated when he revealed he would not fight the general election.

The Edinburgh South party is in disarray, desperately seeking a credible candidate in a seat where they could be humiliated in third place.

Insiders feel that Griffiths has looked out for number one, and jumped a ship which he himself helped to hole.