Concerns raised about West Northamptonshire Council's adult social care consultation
‘The council remains committed to supporting people affected by the changes’ - WNC
Concerns have been raised about West Northamptonshire Council’s consultation into adult social care.
A local resident, who did not wish to be named, contacted the Chronicle & Echo with claims a consultation into closing care homes and service alterations was not ‘fair or extensive’.
The 12-week consultation ran from June to September and was referenced in Tuesday’s council meeting, when cabinet members chose to close Obelisk House and Southfields House care homes, along with supported living facility Eleanor Lodge.
The local resident says in July, during the consultation, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) voted to adopt a ‘technology enabled care’ strategy which the resident claims would help execute the closure of the homes. The strategy uses digital tools to help residents live safely and independently at home.
WNC’s cabinet decided to implement the ‘technology enabled care first’ approach across adult social care, and endorse the development and expansion of digital solutions to support prevention and independence.
The resident also says three days before the cabinet’s vote into technology enabled care, a constitutional change was introduced stripping backbench and opposition members of their right to question cabinet members at full council meetings. Now councillors have a maximum of 30 minutes to question members at a cabinet meeting.
But the authority says the care strategy did not affect decision-making about adult social care.
A WNC spokeswoman said: “The Technology Enabled Care Strategy referenced strengthened the council's existing approach to using technology to help people remain independent and support their wellbeing where appropriate. It has no relevance to the decision-making relating to the council's in-house provider services and did not predetermine the outcome of the consultation.”
The resident also voiced concerns the public consultation was held throughout the summer holidays and would ‘create confusion and leave the public without adequate time to respond’.
But WNC says the consultation was legal and followed council processes.
The spokeswoman said: “This public consultation ran for 12 weeks. During this time, residents, people who use services, families, staff and key stakeholders were encouraged to share their views through a range of consultation activities, including engagement events, online and written feedback. All comments received formed part of the evaluation considered as part of the decision-making process.
“The council carefully considered consultation feedback, equality impacts, service need and financial sustainability before decisions were made. The cabinet report, consultation findings and supporting documents were published in line with the council's governance processes and remain publicly available.
“The council remains committed to supporting people affected by the changes and ensuring that future care needs continue to be met through a range of services and support options available across West Northamptonshire."