Day centre closed unlawfully ‘cannot simply reopen its doors immediately’, councillors to be told

Lady Carmichael last week found that the local authority had failed to conduct an equality impact assessment or properly consult with service users when it closed the Teviot Day Service at the Katharine Elliot Centre in Hawick back in 2019.

Full council is to consider what action is now needed to address the judge’s findings when they meet today (Thursday).

They will consider a report prepared by Nuala McKinlay, the council’s chief legal officer, in which she says: “This matter is complex and it is extremely important that SBC takes the correct steps to move forward”.

The report adds: “The decision by the court was to ‘reduce’ the decision to close the Teviot Day Centre. A fresh decision-making process will therefore be required. As of today’s date, the Teviot Day Centre is no longer a registered care service, nor are there any staff in place, so the centre cannot simply reopen its doors immediately.

“It is important to understand that the court did not say that it is unlawful to close day centres full stop. Rather, the way the council reached that decision was unlawful. It is noted by Lady Carmichael that the ‘fresh decision-making process will inevitably be taken in the context of circumstances that differ to those which obtained in June 2019’.”

As part of a review of a review of day care services for the elderly the decision was taken in 2019 to also decommission services in Eyemouth, Kelso, Jedburgh, Galashiels and Peebles.

The report adds: “The decision was focused entirely on the Teviot Day Centre. As members are aware, however, that decision was taken as part of a wider approach to transforming adult day care services. Whether there are any actions in respect of that wider programme, is a matter which also requires to be considered.”

Now Sean Elliot, who led a campaign to force the council to rethink its decision to close the Teviot Day Service, believes the implication is that closure of the other five services was also unlawful.

He said: “In terms of day services, my trust in Scottish Borders Council has been completely destroyed. If the same decision-making process was made to decommission all of these areas by implication that process was unlawful as well and we’d like to know what the council is going to do about it.”

Mr Elliot’s mother, Borders Rail campaigner Madge Elliot, attended the Teviot Day Service three days a week and is now, at the age of 94, a resident at Deanfield Care Home at Roadhead in Hawick.

Meanwhile, the judge’s ruling could also impact on £22m plans for two care villages proposed for Hawick and Tweedbank.

If implemented the Hawick complex would require the closure of Deanfield Care Home and consultation has been ongoing with those impacted.

But Mr Elliot says he is unaware of consultation over the Tweedbank complex, which he fears is a “done deal”, leading him to conclude that the council is “in danger of repeating the same mistake”.

Scottish Borders Council has issued a statement saying it accepts the judge’s ruling and will not be appealing it, while also apologising to Teviot Day Service users for any “distress and inconvenience”.

It has also wowed that a course of action going forward will be unveiled at a meeting of the full council this week.

Mr Elliot, who plans to attend the meeting, said the apology did not go nearly far enough.

He said: “That apology is the most insipid apology anyone could come up with, delivered by someone who has no understanding of what has gone on here because the apology should not just be to the service users. We are talking about people who could have been services users during the time it was closed down, and you have to remember here that it was an unlawful decision. They adversely impacted people who could have used the service through an unlawful decision. So that needs an apology.

“Also the workers whose jobs have been impacted by unlawful closures of day services, where is the apology to them? Where is the apology to social work staff who have been put under pressure because they have not been able to refer people to day services as they have got nowhere to refer them to. That apology is not acceptable.

“As far as the care village plans, Hawick is being consulted on at the moment and my understanding is there has been no public consultation over Tweedbank, which means the council is in danger of repeating the same mistakes.”

In an updated statement a spokesperson for Scottish Borders Council said: “Earlier this week the Court of Session issued its decision with regards to a legal decision to close the Teviot Day Centre in Hawick.

“The judgement by Lady Carmichael determined that Scottish Borders Council’s decision to shut the centre was unlawful, on the basis that the equality impact assessment and consultation processes undertaken in reaching the decision were flawed. The impact of the judgement is that there is therefore now no legal decision in place to close the centre.

“The centre was closed prior to Covid-19 and has not subsequently reopened.

“The council accepts the judgement and will not be appealing the decision.

“A report will now be brought forward to the council next week setting out the recommended course of action.

“The council would like to apologise unreservedly to service users and their families for any distress or inconvenience they may have suffered in this matter.”

Council officers are to meet with counsel involved in the legal case on Friday, September 30, to “discuss all these issues and the next steps to be taken”.

A further report will then be presented to full council next month.