Elaine Evans, Chesterfield Socialist Party
Tory-controlled Derbyshire County Council had to rethink some of its adult care closure plans following a countywide campaign by Derbyshire Unison, joined by community groups and service users’ families. Chesterfield Socialist Party has played an active role in the campaign with petitions, flyers and two public meetings in Bolsover and Shirebrook.
Although there has been success, the majority of home and day centre closures and sell-offs will continue.
There are 312 care homes in Derbyshire (206 residential and 106 nursing homes), the vast majority in the private sector. The council operate just 16 and was planning on closing 11. The number of outright closures has been reduced to eight, but plans are now for seven others to have reduced services.
The council claims “it had to redesign the service due to a lack of demand for residential care”. At the same time, they say they’ve had ‘significant interest’ from the private sector to take on the running of the homes. So which is it? Why is there ‘significant interest’ if there’s a lack of demand?!
A politically motivated attack
Unison says while 50% of council care home beds are being deliberately kept empty, spending on private care has increased by 60% to £113 million a year. Spending on agency staff has more than doubled in five years.
This is not just about council cuts through a lack of national government funding. It is also a politically motivated attack on the principle of public services by moving them into the arena of private profiteering and big business. As Unison says: “They are not saving money. They have just ripped a hole in the public purse for years to come.”
Some service users’ families attended the Socialist Party meetings. It was heart-rending to hear of their anxieties about their loved ones having to be rehoused, away from the care staff they know, fearing their happiness will suffer and, potentially, their lives shortened by the upheaval.
We need socialist councillors!
The county council elections are in 2025. We plan to stand candidates as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). It is abundantly clear Labour has no intention of rocking the capitalist boat. They have not brought forward any plans yet to ‘socialise’ care again and they will continue to endorse privatisation and private profiteering at the expense of ordinary people.
People should come first, not profits. We need councillors who will refuse to implement further cuts. We need councillors to work with unions and community groups to bring forward ‘needs budgets’ based on demand and necessity, not profit. We need socialist councillors to rescue our dying social care system!
