MP urges halt to closure plans for council-owned care homes

Greg Mulholland, Lib Dem MP for Leeds North West, hit out following the revelation that the council has been in discussions with house builders about the sites.

He says the council had assured residents that a full and genuine consultation would be held before any decision was made on the closure.

Mr Mulholland said a document had been obtained showing that only days after giving assurances at a public meeting, senior councillors and officers discussed plans to sell Spring Gardens and other care home sites in the city for new housing development.

He said: “Council officers gave explicit assurances that no decisions had been made and that the consultation was genuine including that Leeds Council could yet decide to continue to offer care at Spring Gardens.

“It is now clear that this is simply not the case and it seems clear that the council have not been open and honest with people about their intentions, which is disgraceful.

“It is now obvious that the council had no intention of carrying out a real consultation and residents and their families will be disgusted to have been misled in this way.

“No wonder the Labour party refused to debate this whole matter at the recent full council meeting.

“This information raises serious questions about the integrity of this whole process and these questions must be answered.

“I am now calling on the leader of Leeds City Council, (Coun Keith Wakefield), to step in and halt the closure process and there must be a full investigation to reveal the truth about the council’s plans and to make clear who is responsible for failing to be honest with residents and their families“.

But Coun Lucinda Yeadon, executive board member with responsibility for adult health and social care, said: “I completely refute the claim that a decision has already been made about the future of local authority residential and day care centres for older people.

“The consultation about the future of older people’s care in Leeds started in January 2010.

“Since then we have dedicated considerable staff resources to undertake discussions with our customers and their families or carers, elected members, key partner organisations and other stakeholders with an interest in current and future accommodation and care provision for older people in the city, including the voluntary, community and private sectors.

“Due to intense pressures on the adult social care budget and our planned strategy to secure better outcomes for future generations of older people, we have been looking at different pieces of information that have been generated throughout the consultation process as it goes on.

“This includes information about planned housing developments in the localities around the homes.

“The consultation ended on August 5, and we can now bring all the information together to form the final recommendations that will be presented to the executive board in September.

“I want to reassure all of our customers and their families that their views are taken very seriously and will be taken into consideration in our final report.” In June protestors gathered to campaign against the possible closure of a Leeds care home.

Hundreds of people rallied outside Morley Town Hall to voice their concerns over the future of Knowle Manor Care Home, in Tennyson Terrace, Morley, which has been earmarked for closure. Knowle Manor is one of six care homes and three day centres for the elderly singled out for possible closure following a recent council review.

Other homes said to be under threat include Grange Court, Garforth; Kirkland House, Yeadon; Dolphin Manor, Rothwell; Westholme, Wortley and Spring Gardens, Otley.