Information Bulletin
15 September 2004
Council Created Organisations Working Group
Options on the Management of Care Homes and Related Services
At the Council meeting today, Members considered a report about options for managing care homes and related services.
The Working Group set up to review Council Created Organisations made a proposal in July for the Shetland Welfare Trust care homes to be managed by the Council. That proposal was part of a set of ideas put forward to save money on management and administrative costs on services which are currently supported by grant aid through Shetland Charitable Trust. In July, the Council agreed that the proposal could go out to consultation with all interested parties.
Since then, representatives of the Working Group have worked with staff in Shetland Welfare Trust to work out in detail what it would mean in staffing and financial terms for the Council to manage the rural care homes.
At the same time, Shetland Welfare Trust worked up an alternative proposal to the one put forward by the Working Group. That proposal would involve Shetland Welfare Trust taking on the management of the Council's care homes as well as the Care at Home service.
At the meeting today, the Council considered the alternative proposal put forward by Shetland Welfare Trust and decided that the proposal is not viable, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, if the Council wished to place the management of its care homes with Shetland Welfare Trust, it would be required to tender those services under EU rules on Public Services Contracts. The Council wish to avoid having to subject the management of care homes to a tendering exercise if there is no need to do so. The Council can manage this service directly, without having to go through a tendering exercise.
Another aspect of the Council's discussion concerned the savings that can be secured from management and administrative costs. If the Council ran all the care homes, it is estimated that savings in the region of £270,000 per annum can be secured. The Shetland Welfare Trust proposal relied on the Council making savings on corporate and departmental overheads, as a result of out-sourcing care services. The Council has accepted that it is unlikely that savings could be made in that way.
The Council acknowledges the concerns that have been raised as a result of the proposals from the Working Group. One of the key objectives of the Working Group is to ensure that the level of service provided is not reduced. The Council is therefore pleased to learn that the Working Group has arranged to appoint an independent care assessor to judge whether any change to the management arrangements will have any impact on care standards. The Independent Assessor will be in Shetland from 4 - 7 October, meeting with staff from the Council, Shetland Welfare Trust, NHS Shetland and Shetland Charitable Trust.
The Council understands that Shetland Welfare Trust will meet on 17 September to discuss the decision taken today by the Council and what action they wish to take next.
For the Working Group, the next stage in the process will be for representatives to go out to explain their proposal in each of the areas served by a care centre. This moves away from the previous proposal to undertake a full consultation exercise in each area and, as a result, an independent assessor to monitor the consultation exercise will not now be appointed.
Ends