Call for inquiry on bid to close day centres in Shropshire
The opposition leader on Shropshire Council has called for an urgent all-party investigation into the authority's handling of the closure of adult day care centres.
Alan Mosley said the matter had caused "great and ongoing distress" to centre users as well as being "extremely damaging to the council and its administration".
He will table a motion calling for an investigation at Shropshire Council 's meeting on May 8.
Earlier this month three senior judges ruled the closure of Hartley's Day Centre in Shrewsbury was unlawful as it had been done without the council consulting users and relatives.
The ruling could act as a precedent for any future day centre closures in the county. Services in Bridgnorth, currently provided at Innage Lane, are under review.
Councillor Mosley said: "The recent Court of Appeal judgement to the effect that the council had failed to consult service users and their carers about the closure of Hartleys Day Centre, and that this was unlawful, was extremely damaging to the council and its administration.
"It is clear that the council was in breach of its common law duty to users of its services and their carers, there is enormous adverse reputational impact on the council arising from the decision. There will be very significant cost implications especially if the appellant's costs have to be paid.
"There has been great, and ongoing, distress caused to users and carers arising from the administration's actions in this case."
He is now calling on the Tory administration to establish an all-party investigation with a mandate to report on whether there were failings in the council's legal advice, which led to it being judged as acting unlawfully, whether any officer or member of the administration had been negligent and what lessons could be learned.
The closure of Hartley's day care centre and Sabrina Court in Shrewsbury were ordered at a behind-closed-doors meeting. A woman with learning difficulties who uses the facilities, known only as LH, and her family instructed specialist lawyers to challenge the decision.
Hartley's was closed before the Court of Appeal hearing but 15 of the original 17 day centres run by Shropshire Council remain open.
Councillor Lee Chapman, portfolio holder for adult services and commissioning, said: "We are reviewing what options are open to us and considering our next steps. We remain committed to transforming services and giving people greater freedom and control over the support they get and will discuss the motion at full council."
