Making Connections - Making A Difference
The Deloitte Report exposed
Issues and Concerns of the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland
1 Confidentiality
The Deloitte report starts with a full paragraph stating the term of confidentiality surrounding the report and its terms of use. This is not a common approach but is not unusual.
Most Deloitte reports that contain commercial information are bounded by client confidentiality and not to be used to influence a commercial process. A confidentiality clause limiting circulation and publication is very rare but has been used in sensitive political situations before such as David Martin MEP’s expenses investigation. Part of Deloitte’s concern is that they will be dragged into a messy situation as a final authority when they have only partial information.
Such confidentiality also serves the purpose of local authority officials who do not want information released.
2 Method:
The review was conducted between 17th Dec and 12th Jan and consisted of High Level analysis of the tender award process. This means they were not given access to tender papers, submissions or other detailed records but instead looked at summary information produced at different stages of the tender award process by council officials.
Edinburgh Care And Support Tender Dropped
Council Convener should resign
The fight for a fair Direct Payment rate goes on
Today Edinburgh council dropped its plans to tender Care and Support services for almost 800 vulnerable people. A “confidential” report by legal firm, Deloitte found that “the execution in practice [of the tender award process] was not as sufficiently meticulous or as thorough as might have bee
n expected.”
In other words council official interfered with the process to ensure that cheaper services were given preference in the tender process in such a way that Deloitte found that as a result of a controversial “quality assurance process, the ranking of bids did change.” LDAS was informed from sources within the council at the time [July 2009] that this meant that good quality voluntary organisation services were downgraded in favour of cheaper services.
Other concerns emerged over elements like the “confidence factor” applied to tenders. Council official weighed up the submissions from the tenders and then applied a “confidence factor” over whether they thought bidders could really deliver on their promises! No explanation has ever been forthcoming over what this is and what it means.
Save Learning Disability services in Argyll & Bute
On Thursday protestors from all over Argyll & Bute met out Kilmory in Lochgilphead to speak to councillors as they were going in to the Executive meeting.
They were concerned over the removal of Local Area Coordination and the Neighb
ourhood Networks support service. Both have been highly praised locally yet the council officials seem determined to remove these important supports for vulnerable adults in the local area.
The executive commiittee did not make a decision but deferred this to the Full Council meeting on Feb 11th. There will be a number of meetings taking place over the next week to discuss these and other cuts. We are asking all concerned parties to keep in touch with their councillors, to write a personal letter or visit them directly. We will be there again in 2 weeks.
I am not for sale pamphlet launched
LDAS is pleased to announce its new pictorial record of the campaign in Edinburgh to challenge competitive tendering of services for people with learning 
disabilities. It covers the story of the campaign so far and concludes with some important arguments and issues that still need to be resolved.
It features photographs of the events as they took place and has running commentary from the "Council Man"
You can download a copy of the pamphlet for free by clicking on the picture. Printed copies are being distributed among the LDAS membership this week.
If you would like a copy please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Copies are free to LDAS members and people with learning disabilities who took part in the campaign. A small charge per copy will apply to others.
A service worth saving
The following paper is a copy of the LDAS submission to Argyll and Bute Council and summarises our views about keeping the local area coordination service - Follow the latest developments in the campaign by clicking on the menu button in the campaigns menu
Local area coordination was introduced following Scotland’s first major review of learning disability services, “The Same As You”. It was a system that had been pioneered in the dispersed communities of Western Australia where specialist learning disability services were rare.
Local area coordinator worked by helping connect people with learning disabilities (or other vulnerable groups) with existing mainstream or specialist services in the areas that they serve. As a result Local Area Coordinators can for a small investment in time and money make the lives of isolated individuals more fully engaged within their communities.
It was a good idea for Scotland and Argyll & Bute was an ideal area for the development of the LAC service. It has within it many unique and self sustaining but isolated communities with a vibrant internal life. With the help of a coordinator, people with disabilities could really take part in the community life and engage in a way that few of their peers without this support can.
Argyll & Bute has always stood out as one of the few local authorities that has really understood this position and worked hard to make it happen. It has had a team of 4 local area coordinators working in different parts of the region who were able to build up a body of knowledge about local resources and help many individuals take part in day to day life in their towns and villages.
Argyll and Bute does need Local Area Coordination for people with learning disabilities. The number of people with learning disabilities in the area has risen by 20% in the last 5 years. This is due to a combination of better information being collected along with the fact that people with disabilities are living longer.
Local area coordination can provide a way of supporting people to live in their own homes and with family carers for longer reducing the demand for more expensive services such as residential care and supported accommodation. 77% of people with learning disabilities in Argyll & Bute still live at home with family carers compared to a national average of only 48%. These individuals and families need help and support to continue caring. Local Area Coordination along with day services and respite is part of the fabric of support that allows this to continue.
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