As mentioned in the earlier release from the Stop The Cuts Alliance regarding the High Court judgment over the council’s Adult Social Care policy, David Pugh has this morning welcomed “constructive observations on the way forward”.
Cllr David Pugh has also today apologised for adopting, what the High Court judge referred to as, an over-elaborate set of additional criteria.
In response to the judgment and calls from the Alliance for resignations, he said, “This is a complex judgement on a complex matter. It is to be expected that long-term critics of the Council will use this as a platform to seek to achieve change at County Hall. However such a stance does nothing to address the continuing financial and demographic challenges facing the local authority.”
“Council unintentionally breached the guidance”
“The judgement notes the detailed steps that were taken in preparation for the policy and budget decisions for these changes. It also acknowledges that the Council unintentionally breached the guidance by adopting an over-elaborate set of additional criteria. We are sorry that this happened, as we genuinely sought to undertake a thorough and proper process of consultation.
“This additional criteria was designed to mitigate the impact of the changes on clients with substantial needs, and we remain of the view that this was a reasonable step to take, with the aim being to ensure that these clients continued to receive a sufficient level of support. However we recognise that this process did not find favour with the judge and we will be considering what steps should now be taken.”
“Isn’t enough money in the system”
“As Cllr David Rogers from the Local Government Association has stated, this outcome reinforces what we already know, that there isn’t enough money in the system and it needs urgent reform.
“We need to think about how we reach the best long-term solution for the Island’s social care needs – and this can be best achieved through calm dialogue, not headline-grabbing soundbites like this. If the Stop the Cuts Alliance have some constructive observations on the way forward, we would welcome them.”
