Inside

Public Service Not Private Profit February 2015

Review

“ “Swansea Care-Homes to stayopen after UNISON campaign

City and County of Swansea

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UN ANTI-RACISMDAY:no toracism &fascism

City and County of Swansea Council hasdecided not to close any residential carehomes or day care centres in 2015. Thisfollows the issuing of the report of theOlder People Review that was set up asa result of UNISON’s campaign againstthe closures after they were included inthe council’s budget proposal for 2014.

Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said:‘We have ruled out residential care homeclosures and day care centre closuresfollowing our consultation last year. Weare pleased to give that commitment inthese budget proposals.’

UNISON Regional Organiser EddieGabrielsen commented ‘we welcome Cityand County of Swansea Council’sdecision to reconsider their originalproposals and keep open the CareHomes and Day Care Centres thatprovide vital services to the people ofSwansea’

Campaign

UNISON’s campaign between December2013 and February 2014 involved, linkingup with and supporting spontaneous localcampaigns to save individual homes,gathering signatures on paper and onlinepetitions and handing them in, and theconsultation meetings.

There was great press coverage - apublicity event with beds outside StMary’s Church, which had the full supportof the Rector, was covered by the SouthWales Evening Post with front pagephotos and interviews, UNISON Regional

Organiser Eddie Gabrielsen did a phone-in on Swansea Sound, and a resident ofRose Cross House wrote to the OlderPersons Commissioner For Wales andwas interviewed by the press.

The campaign resulted in Swanseacouncil putting their proposals on holdand commissioning Dr. Rod Hick and Dr.Shane Doheny of Cardiff University toundertake the Review of Older Peoples’Services.

Despite rumouring the possibility ofclosure for many years, the Council triedto portray the report they commissionedthen backed them. In a re-writing ofhistory that would make Joseph Stalinblush, they claimed the report ‘endorsesour overall direction of travel in olderpeople’s care’.The review report pointed out that Stats

Wales estimates that the number of over‐65s living in Swansea will rise by 44% by2036, and that the number of over‐80s –the age of many existing service users –will rise by 84% over the same period. Itstated that ‘it is difficult to say with anycertainty that the need for residential carewill fall’ and concluded ‘we would notprioritise closure of local authorityresidential care homes at this time.’

Danger

The danger is that the Council tries toclose them again in the future, or attemptprivatisation under the guise of an ‘arms-length’ company. There is also anotherdanger. When the respite-care homeEarlsmoor was closed five years ago -the remains of which still lie in near-ruinin Brynmill - it was pre-ceded by mis-information and half-truths which ran theservice down.

There is a similar risk that care-homesand day-centres are deliberately allowedto run with empty places and empty bedsby Social Services managers. Thisundermines the service and attempts a‘closure by stealth’ to avoid scrutiny byelected members and others. This mustnot be allowed to happen.

At present there will no closures thanksto the UNISON campaign and a reportthat points out that there is an obvious tokeep services in a period of risingdemand. It shows that campaigning andfighting to defend services - and the jobsin them - works and cuts are notinevitable. We need more fights likethese in this future.

In a re-writing of historythat would make JosephStalin blush, they claimedthe report ‘endorses ouroverall direction of travelin older people’s care’.

AUSTERITYFOREVER:its officialunless wefight

SOCIAL WORKERS & THECOURTS

Austerity forever...?The huge cuts in council spending forecast for the nextthree years are only the beginning. So says our Head ofFinancial Services in the Authority’s recently publishedMedium Term Financial Plan. He calculates over £85million in savings are necessary to balance the books by2018/19 and admits that this is a conservative estimate.

Propaganda

Relentless propaganda within councils and in sections ofthe national media presents the whole business as awonderful opportunity for local government to transformitself. In reality the transformation is akin to someonelopping off their limbs and then being expected to run thehundred metres. It will require the loss of thousands ofjobs and the wholesale destruction of services. In aninnocuous looking table the report makes clear the levelof savings expected in the three years of the plan:

EducationCUT 15%Children’s ServicesCUT 15%Adult ServicesCUT 20%Place (that’s everything else the council doesCUT 50%Corporate ServicesCUT 50%

If this weren’t bad enough, two whole pages of the reportare dedicated to listing all the factors that may force theCouncil to revise the amount it needs to save –UPWARDS!

Cuts until 2022

What’s more, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel asthe cuts are expected to continue. The document warnsthat , “Some commentators, such as the Institute forFiscal Studies, are predicting cuts in public spending upuntil 2022, reducing the overall level of spending in theUK to immediate post Second World War levels.”It then lists a few factors which my make our prospectseven bleaker, such as LGR in Wales and the elections.

Unlike previous twists and turns in the policies of centralgovernment, these measures represent a one way ticketto oblivion for local councils. At the Society of LocalAuthority Chief Executives in November 2014, Sir DerekMyers (Chair of the Service Transformation Challenge)defined transformation as, “a radical new way ofperforming a statutory duty or a core service that willinvolve drastically reduced costs and will likely beirreversible.”

Transformation or decimation?

There is no doubt that under the whip of austerity, newideas are being generated and new ways of working willbe introduced that may even benefit service-users.However, the experience of England is that councils arebeing forced beyond relatively benign stage of looking at‘how we do things’ (which has nevertheless costhundreds of thousands of workers their jobs) towardsfinancial meltdown and insolvency.Once the easy victories have been achieved,inefficiencies driven out of the system, and the back

office all but shutdown, the council will be forced to returnto the sacred cows of Education and Social Services.Again the Report candidly refers to the ‘gearing’ effect ofsavings if some services are protected:

“…if our current savings requirement of £86m over threeyears was applied, for example, just to CorporateServices…and Place Services, the budgets for theseareas would be cut by around 90%. Consequently, otherareas such as Schools and Social Care also need to facesome level of reduction over the next 3 years, given therelative size of their budgets”

Vulnerable

Despite their best efforts, councils in England have beendriven to cut services to the most vulnerable people inour society. In their report ‘Austerity Uncovered’, theCentre for Local Economic Strategies make clear that inmany councils substantial cuts have already been madeto Adult Social Care and Children's Social Services.

Local authorities are only half way through what had nowbecome a nine year programme of austerity that hasalready resulted in a 37% reduction in funding to localgovernment.

Nine out of ten council Chief Executives and Leaders,when interviewed by Price Waterhouse Cooper, felt thatover the next five years some councils faced severefinancial crisis and would fail to deliver essential services.This is the road that Swansea now finds itself on.

Redundancies

Working together the Council and Trade Unions have sofar avoided compulsory redundancies, but how long canthis last? Around 60 posts are threatened this comingyear as it gets increasingly difficult to redeploy staff toother parts of a shrinking council and while the EV/ER

offer is so miserly. Thestaff to the Guildhall, haphysically possible, givewill be displaced by thegiving up other satellite

The answer would seemsubstantial job losses sEngland where some cohalved.

Resistance

Conscious of what the fbeing placed by SwansProgramme’, which hasrequired savings. Overis expected from stoppion ‘new models of servwhacking £30m of savinexpected to raise £8m,investment, and ‘efficien

this becomes harder to

There is no doubt that Munions will work hard toausterity, save jobs andmust be a vigorous polipolicy. Staff and tradeto be ready to fight to dterms and conditions, wattack as part of the dr

Responsibility

We have a huge responall mainstream politicaland racist, ex-Tory partsector as much as the palternative in the next feor the decimation of ou

Austerity can and must be resisted: supporters of Syriza,the radical anti-austerity party in Greece celebrate theirgeneral election win (main picture); the London-wide busstrike in February (right)

Austerity forever...? by Bill

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e decision to relocate nearly allas left staff wondering how this isen the hundreds of workers whoe sell-off of the Civic Centre ande offices.

m to be ‘headcount’ reduction, i.e.similar to those experienced inouncils have seen their workforce

future might hold, great store issea on its ‘Sustainable Swanseas a target of delivering £62m of ther three years, only £9m in savingsing services, while we are relyingvice delivery’ to produce angs. Improved prevention isbut may require somencies’ £5m each year even though

achieve as time goes on.

Members, Officers and the tradeo limit the harmful effects ofd retain services, but equally thereitical campaign to end this insaneunion members in particular haveefend public services and theirwhich will inevitably come underrive to reduce costs.

nsibility to take action ourselves -parties are committed to austerityties like UKIP hate the publicpresent government does. Theew years is either an active fightr lives and services.

Williams, Branch Chairperson

In what could have implications for widergroups of staff, UNISON is increasinglyconcerned about the impact of the namingof social workers in court judgements.

Some ‘practise guidance’ for court caseswas issued by Sir James Munby inFebruary 2014 – Transparency in the familycourts/court of protection, publication ofjudgments. This contains a presumptionthat judgments will be published and thatexpert witnesses will be named, unlessthere are compelling reasons not to do so. Itis intended to promote transparency andpublic understanding of the work of thecourts.

However UNISON has growing concernsabout the effect this is having on morale,recruitment and retention in the social workprofession.

Our experience of supporting membersnamed in court cases has illustrated thedangers of selective media coverage, oftenfrom a Tory press that hates public-sectorworkers. Invariably, this focuses on extractstaken from complex judgments and cancause a backlash against the social workersinvolved, exposing them to public hostilityand media intrusion into their private andfamily lives. Workers in these situationshave no means of defending themselvesbecause confidentiality obligations meanthey cannot speak about the cases.

Senior managers, independent reviewingofficers and others involved in reviewing,scrutinising and approving decisions areoften not named in judgments. This is askewed version of accountability and risksscapegoating front-line staff for decisionswhich the council should take ownership ofat a senior level. In Unison’s experience,this is a particular risk if councils fail toprovide a senior named person to front upmedia enquiries.

Consequences for morale and futurepractice

The consequences for our members whoare social workers can be grave. They, theirfamily, friends and neighbours have faceddays of hounding with reporters barricadingtheir homes. In addition, the very real fearthat being named in court judgments makesthem even more vulnerable to attack fromangry family members and members of thepublic.

Such experiences take social workers wayfrom the frontline, increase stress andanxiety, and impact on their health and well-

being. Furthermore, being named andvilified in the press will have a major impacton their ability to continue to practise. Inshort, their reputation as a professional willbe damaged. This will make securing co-operation and respect from service users/families and other agencies very difficult.

Employer response

UNISON is taking up our concernsnationally about the effect on morale,recruitment and retention in social work withgovernment and with local authorityleadership organisations. However, we alsowant to work with employers to minimise theimpact on individual social workers. It is vitalthat employers are adequately prepared tomeet their duty of care towards socialworkers involved in contentious court cases.

The duty of care comes under common lawand the obligations under the Health andSafety at Work Act 1974, requiringemployers to take reasonable steps toensure the health, safety and well-being ofsocial work staff.

This extends to carrying out riskassessments in connection with the likelyconsequences of being named in courtjudgments and taking steps to protect socialworkers’ identities in court proceedings inthe event that risks to them will arise as aresult of identification.

It also includes taking all reasonable stepsto:

protect social workers from harassmentby reporters in connection with carrying outtheir professional duties

protect social workers from threats andabuse from the public or from service users

prevent physical or psychiatric injuryarising from their work

prevent work-related stress

UNISON is therefore seeking fromemployers a protocol for handling suchcases. It should include agreement on earlynotification of UNISON officials where theyhave information to suggest that one of ourmembers is likely to be named, so that wecan work with them on advising andsupporting the staff members involved.

Further advice and guidance for anymembers is available from the branchoffice or your steward

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Social-workersand the Courts

This newsletter is produced by the City and County of Swansea Unison Branch. Any letters, comments or suggestions for articles should be posted to the branch addressor emailed to Unison@swansea.gov.uk. Correspondence is not guaranteed to be published and contents may not necessarily reflect Unison policy.

Spor ts & Socia l websi te : www.suss.me.uk www.unison.co.uk

Contact us: Unison Office, Rm 153-G, The Guildhall, Swansea01792 635271 unison@swansea.gov.uk

Unison has over 100 trained union reps throughout the council, schools andFEcolleges.Wewill advise,support and represent you collectively and individually on issues from sickness, disciplinaries to legalmatters insideandoutside theworkplace. If youneedadviceor representationpleasecontact theSeniorSteward(s) for your department below or go to your workplace steward. Alternatively please contact thebranch office.

Branch Secretary: Mike Davies / Asst. Secretary: Andrea Thomas

Social ServicesAlison O'Kane - 07856 641234Alison Davies - 07941 757853Martin Chapman - 01792 635271EducationPat Lopez - 07557 560097Mark Otten - 07789 485009Eve Morse - 07532 232873 (after 3.30 pm)Chris Bell - 07967 551025

Regeneration/HousingJohn Llewellyn - 07557 560093Roger Owen - 07847 942458Gower CollegeRon Job - 07963 454041ResourcesRhydian Prismick - 01792 635803HousingSallyanne Taylor - 07825 401711YO

URUNION

YOURUNION

Stand Up To RacismAND FASCISMFar right and fascist organisations are gaining support acrossEurope including in Britain. Arguments wrongly blaming immigrantsfor the fall in standard of living, economic problems and austerityhave provided the cutting edge of support for the far right, fascismand racism.

Across the globe the promotion of fear and hatred of Muslims andIslam is continuing, creating a climate of Islamophobia that isdirectly leading to violent attacks on Muslim people and mosques,and other communities such as Sikhs and Hindus who are wronglyidentified by racists as Muslim. Anti-Semitic attacks have alsocoincided with the growth in support for fascism. Black African andCaribbean communities continue to experience racism and hatredas seen with the killing of Michael Brown in the USA.

Following the success of last year’s event, another international dayof action has been called coinciding with UN Anti-Racism Day. UNAnti-Racism Day commemorates the victims of the Sharpevillemassacre in Apartheid South Africa.

Once again many organisations have come together to rejectracism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism; to celebrate diversity andshow that migrants are welcome; to demonstrate our confidence ina future free of scapegoating, racism and hatred; and to rememberNelson Mandela and cherish the ideal of a free and democraticsociety in which all persons live together in harmony and equalopportunities.

11.30am Assemble Clare Gardens, Clare Street, Riverside,Cardiff. Marching to City Hall. Simultaneous demonstrationswill be taken place in London and Glasgow and across Europe.

http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/Transport details from the branch office

UN Anti-Racism Day Demonstration - March 21st

AGMdates for 20153.3.15Guildhall Council Chamber - 12.30pm4.3.15Pipehouse Wharf - 6.30amCivic Centre Council Chamber - 12.30pm5.3.15Clydach Depot - 6.30amPenllergaer Council Chamber -12.30pm

Benefits &WelfareIf any members need assistance in completing abenefits form, please note that this can no longerbe obtained from the Contact Centre as it used tobe able to.

For help with completing forms anyone 65 pluscan go to Age Cymru, and any other age to CarersCentre or CAB. Anyone with a visual impairmentcan use the welfare rights service provided byRNIB.

Age Cymru: 648866CAB: 08444 77 20 20RNIB: 655424Carer’s Support Centre: 104 Mansel Street,Swansea: Tel: 01792 653344

Welfare Advice for other issues is alsoavailable via the branch office