I read with interest your article Union not happy with care tenders' (Times Group, July 4).
Until I attended a meeting at Broadfields Adult Day Centre on July 1, I had no idea transfer to the private sector was even on the agenda and neither did the majority of parents and carers in attendance.
I then attended a meeting the following day at Avenue House and it became clear that the parents and carers who were there had no knowledge of this proposal.
What was firmly established in my mind was that there has been a lack of consultation with most parties and not just those carers at Broadfields.
Barnet Council has blamed the Government White Paper for forcing this privatisation, yet in the foreword of that very same document, the Prime Minister states: "It shows how we will meet this commitment by working closely with local councils, the health service, voluntary organisations and most importantly, the people with learning difficulties and their families."
The conclusion I have arrived at by speaking with many parents and carers is that consultation has been, for some reason, deliberately avoided.
John Sullivan
Bushfield Crescent, Edgware
July 9, 2002 17:00
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