On 15th January, I attended the Operational Scrutiny Committee of Glasgow City Council to speak as a signatory of the Call-in
Request in to Review and Reform of Mental Health Services. This meeting enabled councillors to re-consider a report approved by the Executive Committee on 11th December 2014. The key
issues that I raised for councillors to consider included;
1) The perception that there has been a lack of transparency in decision-making process
A
reduction of 40% in budget allocation for Glasgow Association for
Mental Health is to be implemented based on the approval of the
report to the Executive Committee on 11th
December 2014.
The
overall sum of £14.2m is stated in the report at point 3, the
section on policy and resource implication. The report referred to a
review and its conclusions, but this did not provide councillors with
the detailed breakdown of how the £14.2m is to be spent.
Reference
is made in section 2.5 of the report, I highlighted "a review of services
delivered by GAMH through its three Community Service Centres and
Clubhouse has highlighted a clear need to improve the performance of
the provision.."
It is my understanding that the
performance of the GAMH has been consistently reported verbally and
in writing through monitoring meetings, quarterly returns and service reviews. The ongoing monitoring feedback has indicated that the performance of GAMH is satisfactory.
2)
Lack of reference to benefits of partnership working and integration
of health & social care as part of the review.
There
is mention of potential duplication of services at point 2.3 of the
report. GAMH
has repeatedly indicated that it is willing to
co-operate with SWS, NHS and other providers to ensure that the most
appropriate and effective support opportunities are available to
people who need support with their mental health. There is anecdotal
evidence which suggests that NHS staff make referrals to GAMH because they are
confident that their training, supervisory and management arrangements
are robust. The Service Centres of GAMH are registered with the Social Care
and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) and have achieved
consistently high scores (5 and 6) when inspected.
3) Lack of reference to the council policy to support
living wage pay rates by contractors
The
official statement of the council website is "The Council is
keen to widen the impact of the policy and will work within the
current legislative framework to encourage contractors to pay the
Living Wage. It is important that companies who benefit from
public money can demonstrate that they are putting something back
into their communities and we intend to use our procurement to raise
standards of pay across the city." It
should be noted that GAMH is a registered Living Wage Employer.
4) What
about support for equalities and human rights based approach?
There
is a statutory duty on the Council to carry out equality impact
assessments.
The
report makes recommendations which are likely to a negative impact on
groups or individuals who access mental health services across
Glasgow. It
should be noted that GAMH is a membership organisation and on average
90% of the Principal Members of the Company are people who use their services.
I
am particularly concerned about the proposed cut to funding on members
of the Scotia Clubhouse. Since
1998, this has provided resources which are dedicated to the recovery
of people experiencing mental health problems. It is providing
opportunities for their members to develop skills and contributing
their talents through a community of mutual support. The aim is a
high quality of life for all members, ongoing recovery and
the ultimate elimination of stigma surrounding those with mental
health problems.
After a vote, the decision of the Operational Scrutiny Committee was to refer the report back to the Executive Committee recommending a 30% not 40% cut to GAMH.
Update: 22nd January 2015
The Executive Committee has maintained the cut of 40% at a meeting today.
