Kemback Resource Centre - Council Should Apologise

On Monday evening the SNP-led Administration brought forward a report which attempted to deal with the failings of their handling of the future of the Kemback Resource Centre for people with learning difficulties.  The council has been criticised by a Care Commission report and families from Kemback Resource Centre have been given legal aid to seek a Judicial Review.

The Labour Group are very very clear that if the SNP Administration had listened to service users and carers from the Kemback Resource Centre then we would not have got into this situation.  Labour attempted to get the council to apologise for these failings and also to leave service-users alone for at least one year.  Unfortunately, the SNP were joined by the Con Dems on the council voting for a new consultation on the future of the Kemback Resource Centre.  It is unclear whether or not the council has actually rescinded the decision to close the centre; so we could be in the bizarre situation where the council is going for a new consultation but where it has already made its mind up to close the centre.  What is clear is that there has been no attempt to say that the council has an open mind on the issue.

Bailie Helen Wright moved Labour’s amendment, she said, ‘It is important that the Council gets this right for some of Dundee’s most vulnerable people who can’t always speak for themselves.’

‘I am concerned that the Care commission have up-held a complaint against the council and that there is the prospect of legal action also.’

‘I am ashamed to say this is not where we should be and I apologise to the service users for this.’

‘We should be listening and consulting much more to service users and their families.  It would be easy to say we told you so but this is a much more important issue than that.’

‘We have the opportunity tonight to put right a wrong and give service users and families from Kemback Street Justice.’

I seconded my colleague Bailie Wright and I said, ‘It is hugely disappointing that we have got to this point.  If the Administration had listened to opposition councillors or more importantly service-users and their families then this problem would have been solved in October, or even earlier.  I hope that the council will now use the opportunity to put right a wrong inflicted upon the service-users from the Kemback Resource Centre.  The Council must ensure that it listens to the views of service-users and rebuilds the trust that has been lost with service-users.’

‘First, and foremost we must have in our thoughts the service users at the Kemback Resource Centre.  Their representatives came here in October in good faith and collectively the council did not listen to them.  They told us that the consultation had not been handled properly and the majority decision was to ignore that.  For that this council should apologise.’

‘We have messed about with the service-users, their families and their carers.  We should have a moratorium on further action, that is why we are saying that no consultation should take place for at least a year.’

‘If there is to be a further consultation then it must work hard to overcome many of the flaws of the previous consultation.  That’s why we think that such a consultation should be overseen by the Chief Executive or a suitably qualified independent person.’

‘We have an important opportunity this evening to make right something that was wrong.  We can show that we are able to listen to the views of some of the most vulnerable people in our city, or we can ride roughshod over their views yet again.’

‘This process has already cost the council money; I do hope that we will not throw good money after bad.  But we also need to balance that by saying that we cannot put a price on justice.  We need to listen to the voice of service-users and carers from Kemback Street.  We need to be their voice and I think tonight in order to give them justice we should support the amendment in Bailie Wright’s name which I am happy to second.’