Freedom of Information Request

CRM No: / 644990 / ICO ref FS50512385
Requestor Name: / Farooq Bukhari
Subject Matter: / Safeguarding Concerns of Wirral Vulnerable Residents
Department: / Department of Adult Social Services
Request Details: / Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
The following is already in public domain, which I am going to list next.
Following Andy Campbell whistle-blowing of "4 week delay of Care to
Wirral vulnerable to save costs" policy since 2008 And Martin Morton whistle-blowing of long running disabled abuse since 1997, there was a CQC damning report of May 2010, which was delivered to WBC in September 2010 and as a result, the Director of DASS, John Webb, took early retirement (some claim it was a resignation) in October 2010 and walked away with £152,339 of public money.
Its a known fact, already in public domain about the tenure of John Webb as a Dir of DASS which was from 2007 to 2010, with Rick O'Brien, Mike Fowler and Maura Noone at the helm, when many known
mishaps and maltreatment of Wirral vulnerable took place, many different inquiries have revealed now. I would be grateful if you can answer the following questions in the above context.
1. How many safeguarding cases, relating to disabled abuse have been identified so far. There was a mention of 16 disabled vulnerable in different media. Please state.
2. How many cases have been successfully concluded.
3. How many are still pending?
4. What's the total amount of money which was paid back to disabled vulnerable residents, who had been overcharged for years. There's a mention of £700,000 in the media. Please confirm.
5. There was a case of rape, reported in the media when disabled abuse revelation by Martin Morton rocked the Wirral peninsula. Without naming the victim, please disclose what was the outcome of that police inquiry. Was the culprit punished for this heinous crime?
Referring to the old people (beyond the ages of 65 including all categories), please state the followings:
6. How many safeguarding cases were reported to DASS during John Webb's tenure (2007 - 2010)
7. How many cases were vigorously pursued by DASS to successful completion.
8. How many culprits were found guilty and punished.
9. How many accused were exonerated due to lack of evidence, proof. List any other reason for not prosecuting the accused.
10. Please state, how many care homes/agencies were forcefully closed by DASS on allegations of abuse (financial, physical, sexual) without pursuing to successful conclusions for the aforementioned tenure.
And lastly, as the former WBC leader, Jeff Green, publicly acknowledged in March 2012 and I quote "Everyone who should be held to account will be". Please state
11. How many DASS officers were held accountable for the malpractices, mentioned above? How many were punished? Please do mention what was their punishment.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Farooq Bukhari
Date Received: / 9 April 2013
Response: / Please accept my apologies for the lateness of my reply to your enquiry. Compiling the reply has taken a significant amount of time due to weaknesses in the Council’s procedures around Freedom of Information, which are currently being addressed.
I believe you are referring to the issues surrounding the overcharging of adults in Supported Living Accommodation. However, some of your questions could also refer generally to the numbers of safeguarding referrals recorded in the period 2007 to 2010. I have therefore included responses for some of your questions that cover both possibilities:
1.  How many safeguarding cases, relating to disabled abuse have been identified so far. There was a mention of 16 disabled vulnerable in different media. Please state.
The AKA report deals with the overcharging of adults in Supported Living Accommodation between 1997 and 2011. On 10th September 2012 the Director of Adult Social Services presented an update on his department’s work to implement the findings of the AKA action plan to Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Prior to the Director of Adult Social Services’ report of September 2012 reimbursements had been made to 16 Clients (from care homes at Curlew Way, Bermuda Road & Edgehill Rd). I believe these 16 individuals to be those you refer to. The Director’s report included a recommendation that further reimbursements be made to 17 residents of Curlew Way, Bermuda Road and Edgehill Road (the original 16 plus one more individual subsequently identified), and to 22 residents of Balls Road and North Road.
All Councils record how many safeguarding referrals they receive. There were 3825 safeguarding referrals during the specified period of 2007 to 2010, arising from 5990 safeguarding alerts that were unconnected with the overcharging issues.
2.  How many cases have been successfully concluded.
Of the vulnerable adults overcharged in Supported Living Accommodation and referred to in the AKA Action Plan, 16 had been reimbursed prior to September 2012. Of the further reimbursements to be made following the Director’s report to Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of September 2012, 11 individuals have been reimbursed, with 28 cases currently underway.
3.  How many are still pending?
28 reimbursement cases are ongoing relating to the overcharging of adults in Supported Living Accommodation.
4.  What's the total amount of money which was paid back to disabled vulnerable residents, who had been overcharged for years. There's amention of £700,000 in the media. Please confirm.
In September 2010 Wirral Council commissioned Anna Klonowski Associates (AKA) to undertake an independent review of the whistle-blowing complaints raised by Martin Morton, relating to claims of overcharging of vulnerable adults in Supported Living Accommodation between 1997 and 2011.
On 10th September 2012 the Director of Adult Social Services presented an update on his department’s work to implement the findings of the AKA action plan to Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Prior to the Director of Adult Social Services’ report of September 2012 reimbursements had been made of £243,460.07 to 16 Clients (from Curlew Way, Bermuda Road & Edgehill Rd).
In May 2013 the total further amount to be reimbursed, including interest, stood at £493,296.90. This comprises:
-  £322,224.97 (including £177,134.82 interest) to 17 clients (from Curlew Way, Bermuda Road & Edgehill Rd) including one additional client
-  £122,012.79 (including £32,307.07 interest) to 9 clients (North Road)
-  £49,059.14 (including £10,403.41 interest) to 13 clients (Balls Road)
As of 6th July 2013 £222,685.77 or 45% of all further reimbursements had been made, to 11 individuals.
The total amount which will be reimbursed following completion of all reimbursements is therefore estimated at £736,756.97, of which £466,145.84 has so far been reimbursed.
5.  There was a case of rape, reported in the media when disabled abuse revelation by Martin Morton rocked the Wirral peninsula. Without naming the victim, please disclose what was the outcome of that police inquiry. Was the culprit punished for this heinous crime?
Two allegations of rape had been recorded by the Police and by the Department of Adult Social Services. One was found to be groundless, and the other victim concerned could not recall whether the alleged incident had happened. For information regarding Police enquiries, please contact the Police.
Referring to the old people (beyond the ages of 65 including all categories), please state the followings:
6.  How many safeguarding cases were reported to DASS during John Webb's tenure (2007 - 2010)
There were 3825 safeguarding referrals between 2007 and 2010. Of the total number of referrals, 2065 related to Older People.
7.  How many cases were vigorously pursued by DASS to successful completion.
796 of these were investigated.
8.  How many culprits were found guilty and punished.
The purpose of Wirral Council’s safeguarding process is to ensure that vulnerable individuals are protected. Wirral Council is not responsible for determining guilt and / or the punishment of alleged perpetrators; that power lies with the Police and any requests for this information should be directed to the Police.
9.  How many accused were exonerated due to lack of evidence, proof. List any other reason for not prosecuting the accused.
Please see the response to Question 8. Any requests for information of this nature should be forwarded to the Police.
10.  Please state, how many care homes/agencies were forcefully closed by DASS on allegations of abuse (financial, physical, sexual) without pursuing to successful conclusions for the aforementioned tenure.
Wirral Council’s Department of Adult Social Services does not have the power to close care homes or agencies. This power rests with the Care Quality Commission, to whom Wirral Council refers all matters of concern.
In the period referred to the Department of Adult Social Services removed its clients from three individual care homes as a result of allegations of abuse.
And lastly, as the former WBC leader, Jeff Green publicly acknowledged in March 2012 and I quote "Everyone who should be held to account will be". Please state
11.  How many DASS officers were held accountable for the malpractices, mentioned above? How many were punished? Please domention what was their punishment.
In relation to the overcharging of adults in Supported Living Accommodation, the AKA report does not conclude that individual DASS officers were guilty of ‘malpractices’ and does not recommend that individual officers are ‘punished’. However, the report did identify a number of corporate failings within the Department. The report makes a series of recommendations for the improvement of the Department, which formed part of the AKA Action Plan, the implementation of which has subsequently been incorporated into the work of Wirral’s Improvement Board.
List of Supporting Documents / Nil
Date Responded: / 21 October 2013