At its meeting on 23rd September, East Dunbartonshire Council resolved as follows:
“Council notes that the Scottish Government Consultation on Adult Social Care now includes a range of Council services, including Children's Services, alcohol and drug services, Criminal Justice and Social Work, including some areas of mental health services, which goes way beyond the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Services. Most worryingly, these services were included at the last minute without any prior discussions with local government.
Additionally, there is no clarity on what this would cost, how it would be funded and what the impacts will be on local people who desperately need and use these services.
Council sees this as another example of the Scottish Government's centralisation of control agenda rather than local empowerment and calls on the Scottish Government to explain the rationale for the inclusion of these services and further explain why it was felt acceptable to expand the Consultation to include these services without any prior discussion with local government”
As instructed, the Motion was communicated to the Scottish Government, whose response is appended for Members’ information.