There are fears over the future of Dundee City Council’s social work base in Claverhouse amid claims staff are being told to work from home.
A number of teams working at the office on Jack Martin Way have recently been moved to “alternative bases”.
The local authority says this is part of “continued planned service developments”.
However, a whistle-blower contacted The Courier to raise concerns staff who have been re-located are being advised to work from home.
And they fear the wider Claverhouse base will eventually be shut and the building rented out.
This, they added, would “deprive Dundee city taxpayers of a valuable office in the community”.
Council ‘regularly reviews’ estate
The Courier contacted Dundee City Council to enquire about the status of the Claverhouse base.
We asked the local authority to clarify the following:
- Are there plans to shut the DCC social work Claverhouse building? If so, where will staff work?
- If there are plans to close the building to staff, will it then be rented out to a third party?
A spokesperson for the local authority responded that “reviews are regularly undertaken into the council’s building estate”.
This, they detailed, involves “looking at the amount and type of buildings, as well as the services delivered from those locations”.
The spokesperson also pointed to the council’s ‘Corporate Property Asset Management Plan’.
This is a framework which will shape the management of their building stock over the next five years.
Among the points made in the report is how “partnership and sharing with other public and private organisations is key to the use of local authority buildings going forward”.
However, Dundee City Council would not confirm if there were plans to fully shut the Claverhouse office.
Instead, the spokesperson added: “As part of continued planned service developments, some teams have moved from Claverhouse to alternative bases.
“Direct discussions would take place with staff about any future developments.”
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