Category: Department of Adult Social Services

Bidston & Claughton Area Forum 3rd October 2012 Part 2

Continued from Part 1. A member of the public called Paddy asked why the “Labour controlled council” was planning to make cuts? He said the benefit changes from April next year and the move to Universal Credits were an “attack on the poor”. He said that most cuts affected the poor, who would “get it … Continue reading “Bidston & Claughton Area Forum 3rd October 2012 Part 2”

Continued from Part 1.

A member of the public called Paddy asked why the “Labour controlled council” was planning to make cuts? He said the benefit changes from April next year and the move to Universal Credits were an “attack on the poor”. He said that most cuts affected the poor, who would “get it in the neck”. Paddy went on to refer to tax credits, no crisis loans for a month, and how [the Coalition Government] was making you [the Labour controlled council] implement this. He said that in 1932, there had been a crisis in banking system, which led to an attack on the poor because of the errors of rich. Paddy referred to riots in Europe unless reps do something with the power in own hands and went onto refer to the 1930s, fascists and war as well as a lost generation of youth.

The Chair, Cllr Denise Roberts said that they were dependent on money Government gives us and went on to refer to militant Labour in Liverpool in the 1980s.

Cllr Steve Foulkes suggested to Paddy that he put his comment on the consultation form, so that his view would be in the system. He said that part of their thing was that they had to set a legal budget, in fact they were forced to set a legal budget. He suggested they take the fight to Government. Cllr Foulkes asked why Metropolitan Authorities, mainly Northern and North-West ones were facing more severe cuts than the shire counties and the South-East?

Cllr Foulkes said the figures showed they were taking a heavier burden of the deficit. He said it was “our job”, to take the “fight to government” for a fair share. He referred to a protest on the 20th and how the public sector would bear the brunt. He felt that at the end of the day, he believed they could predict significant funding cuts.

He said that people complain bitterly about the NHS cuts, but the NHS in [Coalition government] terms was not cut just frozen. Cllr Foulkes referred to a 20% cut and the cries of anguish about the National Health Service, but that it was an unprecedented future. He said the public would be consulted and people would be involved, even if it was inevitable. Cllr Foulkes said he was an Evertonian, so he was naturally a pessimist, but the Director of Finance had said that if they don’t make decisions it would be a bigger failure of their duty.

He said in the heady days of Derek Hatton, by taking a stance and causing mayhem they had got an extra £1.8 million, which would not go very far [today]. He said there was a will within [Wirral Council] to tackle the problems. He said that with a number of services provided, such as the Department for Adult Social Services, in reality a small number people took up a third of the budget, but that we’re all “going to be old at some point”. He said it was a statutory service and if there was a belief that the public sector would diminish, then there needed to be the jobs in private sector. Cllr Foulkes said they needed to promote jobs and that even if the general public came out with the theme [in the consultation] of higher spending, all departments would take some hit. He said some authorities are saying the only services protected are adult and children’s protection, with the rest hired out to the public sector or volunteers, it was these sort of dimensions [of cuts], but that very rarely services were not loved. Cllr Foulkes said they were involved with a number of lobby groups, the Local Government Association (LGA), the Special Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities (SIGOMA) all of which had common cause, that they would not take an inordinate share [of the cuts]. Cllr Foulkes said that local government was the best spender with regards to efficiency and that there was a big campaign the Fire Chief was running in the local press. He also mentioned that they would be electing a new Police Commissioner, but that they had to plan for the worse and hope for best, that the consultation was about realism and what really matters.

Cllr Foulkes said that the Department of Adult Social Services was demand-led, whether collecting in debts, or issues of child protection such as Baby P, he said the basic element was a loss of a third of funding and currently they provided services to people classed as critical and substantial.

Continued at Part 3.

Council (16th July 2012) Parts 1 to 7

I’ve finally uploaded the video footage from last Monday’s well attended Council to Youtube. Links to each part are below with part 7 being in HD.

Part 1 00:00 to 04:07
Part 2 04:08 to 06:34
Part 3 06:35 to 50:49
Part 4 50:50 to 53:43
Part 5 53:44 to 130:37
Part 6 130:38 to 136:00
Part 7 136:00 to 169:33

A playlist of all seven parts is below.

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Guest Post: Leonora Brace tells her life story (Part 1)

Guest Post: Leonora Brace tells her life story (Part 1)

                             

Declarations of interest: This is a guest post written by Leonora Brace but edited by John Brace. Leonora and John Brace are married to each other.

I have now been married to John, for four years, but John’s mother, also his brother, don’t want us to be together. I have gone out of my way to be there for him, but his mother said I should not stand by him if he wants to help the people with their problems. I should tell him to say “No!” Why, when he loves helping them?

Also, he loves writing, for his paper on the laptop. She said no, no, but he loves to write the truth. Also she does not want him to be happy as he is with me. She likes to treat him like a small child, but he is a grown man in his thirties.

Also, because I am not English born, she does not like me. Also, as she hit me in my face on the 27th December 2011 and made me have a black eye. Then a few days later, when I was at home having a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), and I dialled 999 for help. The ambulance came, but also the police came first and they demanded to take John away, because as I still had a blackened eye, which his mother had given me, they took John away.

I did not go with the ambulance to the hospital, but stayed behind. I waited an hour to make sure I could drive and went to the Custody Suite after ringing up. His mother had phoned the Custody Suite and did not contradict that he gave me the black eye when it was her who gave it to me. After I got there, one and half hours passed before he was allowed to come away with me.

We decided to have nothing to do with his mother or any member of that branch of the family. On the 10th May this year 2012, John and I had gone to bed. We have a cat called Stranger, a black cat, whom he loves very much.

During the night, or early morning, Stranger started to cry. He got out of the bed to see what the matter was, but unfortunately fell down the stairs. He banged his head and broke his arm.

Once again I informed the ambulance and we went off to the hospital. They couldn’t see to his arm there and then, but on the 12th May we were called back in again where they operated and plastered him up. Late afternoon they allowed him to go home.

A few days later, he was having a bit of a problem with the pain in his arm, and I was not feeling very well, so I dialled 999 to call an ambulance for myself. Once again the police came and they had been informed that I had pushed him down the stairs, but I had not pushed him down the stairs.

Going by what she had said to the police previously, even though I was having a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) they put me into handcuffs and dragged me away to the Custody Suite, for six and a half hours. They did not allow John to travel to the hospital with me. They dragged me down and up the steps causing injury. When John got to the Custody Suite, after having first gone to the hospital and missing me by five minutes, she stated to the officers not to let me out. Eventually they let me out after six and a half hours with no charge.

She is now stating that I don’t look after her son. She has informed Social Services of this fact, she desperately wants to break us up and for John to move away, so that she can keep him like a little boy for eternity.

© John Brace and Leonora Brace 2012

Wirral Council’s DASS: “The Airing of Grievances (Part 2)” Appeals SubCommittee 3/7/2012

I notice the delayed grievance appeal from the 5th March 2012 (adjourned for a whopping 17 weeks (119 days) is going ahead tomorrow afternoon (as I write this on the 2nd July 2012).

It seems there is a delayed grievance appeal from an employee of Wirral Council’s Department of Adult Social Services. Representing the historically dysfunctional Department of Adult Social Services at the March meeting was none other than Employee 19 of the AKA report, dramatic drum roll Mr. Richard O’Brien.

No, it’s not the famous Richard O’Brien who used to present the Crystal Maze on Channel 4 in the 90s, and yes I invite you in the comments to state the similarities between Wirral Council and The Crystal Maze, but a guy that goes by the shorter moniker of Rick O’Brien. Who’s Rick you may ask? He is the Head of Branch, Personal Assessment and Planning (whatever that is!?).

Basically he lines managers the managers (that manage the social work teams) for Wallasey, Birkenhead, West Wirral etc… so it must be to do with an employee in that branch of DASS (which doesn’t narrow it down much!)

Brenda Hall is representing the other side, as she’s a branch negotiator for Wirral Council’s UNISON.

Getting out my handy “Who’s Who at DASS”, I find Rick O’Brien’s email address is richardobrien@wirral.gov.uk, which is interesting as Rick O’Brien (as reported as an exclusive on this blog last year) was one of the people who Bill Norman emailed on the 12th December 2011 about not publishing AK’s preliminary draft report.

Wasn’t he the same Rick O’Brien getting criticism in the comments section of the Wirral Globe and mentioned by name in a response to a FOI request involving four week delays in care packages?

Oh and also mentioned in this Wirral Leaks post about the Commissioning conference in London?

Hmm, well he certainly manages to get himself mentioned a lot (and it seems sometimes for all the wrong reasons)! But then it seems, a Pete Sheffield is just met with stony silence over a FOI request for Rick O’Brien’s job description.

But if memory serves correct he was also “Employee 19” in the now infamous “Anna Klonowski Associates Ltd (AKA) Independent Review of the Council’s Response to Claims Made by Martin Morton (and Others)”.

Ahh yes, that Rick. Oh well, apart from my frivolous uses of the <A HREF></a> tags, it’s nice to see there are still people at DASS with grievances to air. I had high hopes for the new Director of DASS, Graham Hodkinson, but it seems that he’s inherited a lot of problems from his predecessor in the role, Howard Cooper. How long will it before the public and employees again trust Social Services/Wirral Council to do the right thing and have a bit more accountability?

I feel at times writing about Wirral Council that it would be so much easier if getting information out of it wasn’t about as painful as pulling teeth, but it’s getting late so I will bring this to a close.

Cabinet (Wirral Council) 15th March 2012 Report on meeting Part 1

Well as promised in a previous post here’s a writeup of part of last Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, well at least some highlights.

Item 8 (Chief Executives Office) along with its its appendix have been deferred to a future meeting.

Cllr Jeff Green wanted to waive call-in on item 27 regarding St. Anselms College but was given legal advice by Surjit Tour that he couldn’t because the officers who have to agree to it to waive call-in weren’t present.

The nomination for Mayor and Deputy Mayor for 2012/2013 were as follows:-

Mayor: Cllr Gerry Ellis

Deputy Mayor: Cllr Dave Mitchell

Bill Norman (Director of Law, HR and Asset Management), Ian Coleman (Director of Finance) and Jim Wilkie (Chief Executive) were all absent from the Cabinet meeting.

Err, let’s see, Craig Manning has written about item 16 for the Wirral Globe which can be read online. Certainly Cllr Jeff Green wasn’t happy with the news, but Social Services has a reputation for overspending by £millions each year.