(posted 7563 days ago)South London Press
NewsWe're in a state of shock over closure of day centre
Aug 8 2003WE ARE writing in a state of shock about Lambeth council riding roughshod over local people and local democracy in its decision to go ahead with the closure of the Kennington Park Day Centre for the Elderly.
On Monday last week, we led a delegation of centre users, carers and local activists to challenge the council's leaders at the executive committee meeting over its decision to shut the centre without proper consultation with its users.
Labour and Liberal Democrat backbench councillors on the adult social services scrutiny committee, which regulates the council's actions, had backed us and recommended only the week before that the council should delay the decision so that users could be properly consulted. We were therefore appalled when the Liberal Democrat and Tory leadership ignored not only residents but also the scrutiny committee, thereby confirming that the day centre will be closed in August.
This has wider repercussions than just for Kennington Day Centre. We believe it means firstly that the council is prepared to close important social services facilities without any consultation with users at all (the director of social services having admitted at the meeting that the decision to close the centre had been made before April, before any consultation at all had been carried out).
Secondly, we believe it means Lambeth's leaders see no need to be accountable to backbench councillors - even those of their own party - or to the scrutiny committees.
Ted Collins, User
Dot Gibson, Chairwoman of Lambeth Pensioners' Action Group
Sam Townend