Council reshuffle sees controversial portfolio subsumed

Lib Dem Councillor Dale Mulgrew

With Councillor Irene Davidson formally ratified as Leader of the Council and Councillor Dale Mulgrew as her deputy, a minor reshuffle in Cabinet positions has taken place.

Councillor Pauline Maguire takes over from Councillor Davidson as portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability. Councillor Maguire had previously held the highly controversial ‘Older People’s Portfolio, a portfolio created by the Lib Dems and vehemently opposed by Labour and Conservatives as “totally unnecessary”.

Councillor Mulgrew, as well as being deputy leader is to carry on as Health and Social Care portfolio holder which will now include the Older People’s portfolio until the next local elections in May.

Father Paul Daly, a vociferous critic of the Adult Care System put in place under Councillor Mulgrew's watch said: "How on earth can they give Dale the responsibility of older people given the great harm the adult care system, brought in by him, has done adult care in this Borough?

"I spent an hour and a half in a meeting with an adult parishioner, her social worker and two supervisors of the private care company that RMBC employs to care for her. For six months this lady had not had a shower. There had been no laundry service because the weekly laundry had been swapped for shopping. None of her carers had cared enough to ask 'who does your laundry' or 'would you like a shower?' Her front door was left unlocked by the carers all day long.

"This is the system that Dale has pioneerred in this Borough (and claimed to be seamless, at which the RMBC social workers I spoke to laughed). It is selling our older residents short.

"To put Dale in charge of older people shows deep contempt."

Labour Leader Councillor Colin Lambert welcomed “the reduction in cabinet posts”. Conservative leader Ashley Dearnley concurred pointing out that the Conservatives had strongly objected to the post being created.

Councillor Mulgrew was at pains to point out that the portfolio is not “being scrapped”, he said it is a “separate portfolio to the Health and Social Care portfolio” and added he would be looking after both portfolios as separate entities.