Issue - meetings

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: in order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public notified the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda at least one working day before the meeting with brief details of the matter to be covered.

Charlotte Peters Rock addressed the Committee on a number of matters; in accordance with her request her statement is reproduced in full below:

“1         To query the decision taken by this Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, in the light of its overtly political make-up and in view of the severe conflict of interest in the Portfolio Holder for Adult Services also holding at that time the post of Portfolio Holder of Health and Wellbeing.

The Health and Wellbeing of Adult Disabled Service Users and their family carers, has been destructively compromised by decisions taken by this Committee, which has refused to do its duty to according to its remit, by overseeing and preventing the further loss of Health and Wellbeing of those vulnerable service users within Cheshire East Borough Area.

I now ask this Committee to follow its own remit, and to oversee that there is no repeat of the extreme stress, which has been deliberately caused by decisions taken by this council – with no prior consultation – over the heads of Service Users and their hard-pressed Family Carers.

The fact that the Task and Finish Group – set up by this Committee in October 2011, following an urgent request which had had to be delayed because the September 2011 meeting had been closed to the public – was summarily closed down as an urgent item in the November meeting of this Committee was an utter disgrace.

I now wish to be informed about what this Committee will do to redress the balance – insofar as with hindsight it could be redressed – so that no such deliberate distress is ever caused again to either Service Users or their Family Carers by the deliberate actions of any Councillor or Senior Employee of Cheshire East.

2          To ask what this Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee will now do to ensure the reopening of Bexton Court Dementia Day and Respite Care Unit, and the Tatton Intermediate Hospital Care ward, in Knutsford so that the actual needs of residents of the Knutsford area can be properly addressed.

3          In view of the lately received, Durrow Report, to ask that a Task and Finish Group is set up to oversee all and any bright ideas of this Council and the local NHS in respect of both social and health care – whether possessing a lawful remit or not – so that no services are closed nor service users lives unnecessarily further disrupted in the Knutsford area.

These matters are of great importance to Cheshire East Council taxpayers, because what impacts adversely on the Knutsford Area, will also be seen by many people as being prepared to impact adversely upon other Cheshire East centres of population.”

The Chairman undertook to respond to Ms Peters Rock in writing.