The row over Fife Council’s plans to privatise all 10 of its care homes shows no signs of abating after an opposition councillor rubbished the suggestion they could be taken over by the voluntary sector.
Labour finance spokesman Councillor Mark Hood said privatisation was the “only option on the table” for the SNP/Lib Dem local authority.
He said, “If they were serious about the third sector running the homes through community cooperatives or a Fife care trust they would have given enough time to make this happen, and they haven’t, so they should admit the only option on the table is privatisation.
“We have seen failure after failure with large private-sector companies running community care provision and that is why, even at this late hour, we would urge the SNP to think again and get around the table with all stakeholders to discuss a better way forward.”
He said while there is some very good provision in the private sector, it is wrong to put all your eggs in one basket in the current climate.
Social work and health committee chairman Tim Brett said, “Fife Council will be losing £100m in capital over the next 10 years and also faces revenue reductions of £120m over the next four years.
“It was against that background that the Lib Dem/SNP administration decided to ask the private and not-for-profit sector to tender to replace our existing care homes.”
He added, “By doing this we will ensure older people in Fife gain access to high-quality buildings and services much quicker than we would have been able to do if we had continued with our own in-house reprovision.”