Rhondda Cynon Taf Council to privatise its remaining long-term home care services
Last year, the aggregate fee income of 19 of the 20 largest independent providers, with CareTech excluded, was £1.63bn.
Of this income, 19% – a total of £310m – was recorded as profit.
The chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, Louise Gittins, said: ‘It is wrong that some providers are making excessive profit from providing these homes when money should be spent on children.’
She added: ‘Decreasing visibility of financial information makes it increasingly difficult to understand the financial health of these organisations that are largely funded by public money.
The LGA called for greater financial oversight of the largest independent providers.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council will outsource its remaining long-term home care services to independent providers.
It comes despite opposition from unions and councillors and a petition against Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s plans.
Forgive me if I am wrong but is it not the councilors who decide what happens within the council?
RCT Council reported on 12/10/2023 “Cabinet will next week consider how to deliver the domiciliary home care service in the future.” It was up to the 8 Labour Party members who make up the cabinet and as Labour has a majority within the council of 59 councillors with just 8 Plied Cymru 6 Independent 2 Conservative.
If the Labour Party and its Labour Councillors wanted to prevent privatised care in RCT from happening it could have.
There is the partition to stop the privatised care in RCT what’s that all about?
Is it all just smoke and mirrors?
UNISON, Labour Link works directly within the Labour Party to take UNISON’s policies and priorities into the heart of the party.
GMB, Labour is the only party committed to putting rights, equality and power in the hands of working people. Yes (20 MPH)
Unite, Winning Labour for working people – making our voice heard on policy issues that matter to ordinary people, their families and communities.
Yes, keep on believing it.
Below is an open letter to the Welsh Government, another Labour-controlled government with no opposition and that’s democracy in Wales.
UNISON Cymru/Wales has today (Tuesday) written the open letter below to the Welsh government deputy minister for health and social care Julie Morgan MS following the decision by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council to privatise care in the region.
Dear Minister
I am writing on behalf on UNISON Cymru/Wales to request a Welsh Government intervention to pause the actions arising from a decision of Rhondda Cynon Taf’s cabinet, to outsource the remaining 10% of ‘in house’ home care to the private sector.
The decision, taken yesterday morning (23rd October) was taken without proper consultation with trades unions, those who receive home care or their families and on, at best, sketchy financial information. Following the decision, care workers who were lobbying the council, were in tears and those whose loved ones were in receipt of care, were anxious and upset.
We understand the concern about a projected £35m shortfall in next years’ budgets.
However, UNISON believes this to have been an ill thought out, hasty decision which will leave the council unable to respond to future failings of private sector providers, such as we have seen elsewhere in Wales.
The decision appears to fly in the face of the Rebalancing Care and Support Act, which specifically wants to rebalance care provision towards the public sector.
The way in which the decision was made also goes against the spirit of the Social Partnership and Procurement Act.
The Act directs in scope employers to try to seek agreement with trades unions. Peter Crews, the UNISON branch secretary for Cynon Taf Local Government branch, spoke to the cabinet members and pleaded for a deferral of the decision to allow alternatives to the proposal to be explored with trades unions and possibly APSE (The Association of Public Service Excellence).
This was rejected. Mr Crews told the cabinet that, he was surprised to hear that efficiency was the reason for the proposals, since no officer of the council had discussed any concerns about efficiency of the in house provision, or ideas to make improvements.
In the light of this shocking decision, we ask that Welsh Government intervene to allow time for alternative approaches to be explored. The prospect of a dispute is not something trades unions would relish, but the hurt and anger felt by care workers who chanted ‘it started with a clap and ended with a slap’ tells you all you need to know about how home care workers will want to respond.
Yours sincerely
Simon Dunn UNISON Cymru/Wales head of bargaining and campaigns
Steve Belcher, UNISON Cymru/Wales Labour link office
