A unique Scottish charity that provides backroom support for 500 disabled people to help them use direct payments to employ personal assistants (PAs) has suspended operations saying the government sees no role for PAs as Scotland transitions to a National Care Service.

SPAEN – the Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network - last year received a £60,000 grant from the government to run a programme to prepare people to become PA employers.

SPEAN says the charity's directors were told earlier this year that the funding would not be repeated because their work did not advance the Scottish government's ‘priority or aim of moving to a National Care Service’.

SPAEN Chief Executive Colin Millar says the government's statement called into question the very purpose of the charity:

"That said to me and to the whole board that people having the information to decide whether to become a PA employer is not part of the transition to a National Care Service – there really was no other way to interpret that.

“The directors, in seeking to discharge their role, looked at that and concluded, if the option of becoming a PA employer is not part of the model moving for the future, then that removes the core function and requirement of SPAEN. How could we continue with the charity, how could we continue to ask for people to sign up for another year if we will have no role in the future?

“We were taking a long-term strategic position that if the National Care Service comes in in 2024, as soon as 2023 people will be being encouraged not to take direct payments. So we decided to take the decision now – knowing that the charity will be obsolete in 12 to 24 months – that, rather than die a death of a thousand cuts as people were steered away from direct payments, we would close over time and support people to make their own arrangements or move across to other providers.

“Having had to fight to support PA employers and other social care users at the start of the pandemic, we ended up with a 50% reduction in our grant funding for last year.  This year, it’s no funding at all.  These actions and the reasoning behind denying our grant funding application suggest that Direct Payments and PA employment is not of significance or priority as we move to the Scottish Government’s preferred National Care Service.”

After making the decision to wind down the organisation, in March SPAEN received a letter from the Social Care Minister saying civil servants would work with the charity and committing funding to ensure a smooth transition of PA employers to new arrangements.

SPAEN says, although the organisation generated £200,000 per year, the monthly fees received from PA employers were spent entirely on salaries for five members of staff and day to day operations.

Colin Millar says SPAEN kept staff on to help with the transition but is now £15,000 overspent having used all its working capital, because transition funding never arrived.

He says that promised meetings with civil servants did not take place:

"They were aware that we retained additional staff capacity in order to meet their preference that the charity transitioned people to other support providers. That's the bit that tipped us over. We retained capacity to do what we all agreed we were going to do and now they are saying they didn't agree transition funds even though the letter from the Minister states that very clearly.

“We have been in operation as long as the Scottish parliament has been in existence, so 22 years now. For the first time, Scotland does not have a third sector national organisation supporting PA employers.”

Mr Millar says the organisation cannot legally continue to operate at a deficit but in email correspondence with the government this week he leaves the door open to resuming operations if the charity’s board of directors receives any encouragement from ministers.

In an email to the Scottish government's lead civil servant, Mr Millar says:

"It would be useful if the Scottish government could advise whether, should no transition funding be forthcoming, the £15,000.00 incurred in good faith will be made available to the charity and whether a formal written statement from the Minister indicating the intention to continue and, indeed, promote direct payments as part of a blended approach to the future of social care delivery is the Scottish Government’s policy and commitment."

The issue was raised at First Minster’s Questions by Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie who called on the First Minister to intervene:

“I have seen the emails between the government and the organisation, and I am appalled frankly at the lack of understanding by the minister and his officials,” Ms Baillie told parliament.

“No alternative has been suggested and this crisis for disabled people is entirely the fault of this government. You have the power to do something about it. It is about independence – the independence of disabled people in Scotland.

“So, what urgent action will the first Minister take to halt this impending crisis?

Nicola Sturgeon replied that she had only become aware of the issue today, adding:

“I am asking Kevin Stewart the relevant minister to meet with the organisation as a matter of urgency.

“There are a number of complexities here that I won't go into now, but I want to see a solution found and the best way of moving things forward is to facilitate that discussion as soon as possible.”

 

Read more: How Feeley advisers questioned conclusions; PAs still waiting for thank you payment; Care users urged to take control to avoid future cuts;

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