New body to manage health and social care in Blackburn and Darwen given go ahead (From Lancashire Telegraph)

New body to manage health and social care in Blackburn and Darwen given go ahead

12:38pm Tuesday 11th August 2009 in

By Tom Moseley » Reporter

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A NEW £300million body to manage Blackburn and Darwen’s health and social care has been given the go ahead by councillors.

Borough councillors voted to approve the controversial Care Trust Plus at a special meeting by 28 members to 22.

Bosses claim the merger, which combines the social care budgets of the council and the primary care trust, will make the system simpler and help improve the borough’s dire health statistics.

But critics say the move, seen as the biggest change to public spending in the borough in recent years, will mean vital social services are taken out of voters’ hands, with only three out of 15 places on the trust board occupied by elected councillors.

The council’s ruling exec-utive will be asked to rubber stamp the proposals tomorrow night.

NHS North West, which controls the region’s health-care, will then examine the scheme before submitting it to health secretary Andy Burnham for the final decision.

The plans have already been delayed as bosses hoped to submit them before the parliamentary recess.

There is only one other Care Trust Plus in the country, in North East Lincolnshire. If Blackburn with Darwen’s goes ahead, the 15-man board, which will include lay members and NHS represent-atives, will decide how the total social care budget is spent when it meets every month.

Of the £300million total, £50million will be contributed by the council and £250million by NHS Blackburn with Darwen, which commissions healthcare in the borough.

Coun Dave Hollings, adult social care spokesman for the opposition Labour group, said while he supported the principles of the merger “the details are a bit thin on the ground.”

Critics, including unions, have raised fears that council cash could be used to plug NHS funding gaps, to the detriment of people in the care of social services.

But executive member for adult social care David Foster said there would be “adequate safeguards” to prevent this.

Comments(11)

Lifeinthemix says...
12:56pm Tue 11 Aug 09

Hi All.

First point :

Is the Care Trust Plus, a charitable trust?

If so then this trust will have no recourse via FOI or any other avenue for we the people to collect information as to who and what they are doing. Very dangerous with the vaccination agenda.

Second :

How many of those on the trust board are Common Purpose?

Third :

Is this the Trust Hazel Harding will command, because Hazel is Common Purpose? (I have the FOI response from LCC in this regard)

Fourth :

Common Purpose operate directly for the Crown, mandated to ensure this nation moves into the EU.
CP operates in the police, councils, crime syndicates and they are also very big in the prison system which gives them full access to prisoners up for parole. This gives CP direct access for recruitment of released prisoners to operate for them, and gives CP leverage to recruit based on their control of the Parole Board.

You must get savvy about Common Purpose.

This pseudo charity has placed spies around my home, I recently busted one pair of these spies as Hyndburn Homes told me they are to thieve my car.

Their spies take all registration numbers of all vehicles that visit my home.

What a loverly charity they are, we must destroy their grip on Blighty and put them up for treason.