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https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/en...investigation_uk_5c7bee0fe4b0e5e313cb9eac?n9d
The local government funding crisis has become so dire that councils are being forced to sell thousands of public spaces, such as libraries, community centres and playgrounds – and are using some of the cash to pay for further service cuts and redundancy payments.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/en...06e4b0bf166204267b?ugs&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage
In the last three years, Staffordshire County Council has sold four care centres including residential homes for the elderly and day facilities for adults with disabilities. During the same period, it spent £843,000 made from selling assets on making people redundant, with two thirds of the job cuts made in social services.
Janet Convey and her family have sharply felt the effect of the cutbacks. Her son Paul, 49, who has complex learning disabilities, used Kidsgrove day centre from the age of 21 until it was closed in 2015.
The facilities had included two sensory rooms and disabled toilets that the parent-teacher association had paid for through years of fundraising. The building was later sold to Bluebell School Ltd, a private school, for £395,000 in 2016/17.
“It was devastating,” Convey said. “People might say there are private providers and various other opportunities in the community, but nothing can compare with what is provided by a fully authenticated day service run by a county council.” Her son now attends a private service set up by two parents, run in a community hall.
The local government funding crisis has become so dire that councils are being forced to sell thousands of public spaces, such as libraries, community centres and playgrounds – and are using some of the cash to pay for further service cuts and redundancy payments.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/en...06e4b0bf166204267b?ugs&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage
In the last three years, Staffordshire County Council has sold four care centres including residential homes for the elderly and day facilities for adults with disabilities. During the same period, it spent £843,000 made from selling assets on making people redundant, with two thirds of the job cuts made in social services.
Janet Convey and her family have sharply felt the effect of the cutbacks. Her son Paul, 49, who has complex learning disabilities, used Kidsgrove day centre from the age of 21 until it was closed in 2015.
The facilities had included two sensory rooms and disabled toilets that the parent-teacher association had paid for through years of fundraising. The building was later sold to Bluebell School Ltd, a private school, for £395,000 in 2016/17.
“It was devastating,” Convey said. “People might say there are private providers and various other opportunities in the community, but nothing can compare with what is provided by a fully authenticated day service run by a county council.” Her son now attends a private service set up by two parents, run in a community hall.
