Editorial: Fife Council’s Chief Executive Rejects meeting with Leaders of the Disabled and Elderly

Leaders of three voluntary organisations have written jointly to the Chief Executive of Fife Council.   They raised concerns about the decision by Fife Council  to no longer fund their organisations and asked for a meeting to discuss those issues.  In a reply to those leaders , the Chairs of Disabilities Fife, Fife Elderly Forum and Frae, Fife Council’s Chief Executive states he is unwilling to meet with them to discuss their urgent concerns.   See final paragraphs of… Letter of 3 September 2014 from Steve Grimmond, Fife Council rejecting a request to meet disabled and elderly leaders.

In our view, Fife Council should be talking with these voluntary organisations at the highest level as the loss of funding has had a significant impact on what they can do.  We also are of the view that Fife Councillors have been misled about the impact of  their decision  on the local community.  We believe the impact assessment should have been high and not low.

As a result all those orgranisations are struggling to find alternatives.   Disabilities Fife is the first that will be hit  and  is now looking at crowd funding.

Please do support them if you can.   It is our view that Fife Council are treating these organisations unfairly and not providing enough support during the provision of a new Equalities Hub in Fife.   It is also our view that Fife Council are forcing those that are less fortunate, the blind, deaf and other disabled people and the elderly to provide the funding by the removal of their year on year funding.

Fife Council should be finding this money from other sources  not the voluntary sector that have been left high and dry, which have little resource to do this work.  Leaving these organisations without sufficient monies to continue.  Come on Fife Council, be fair to those that are less fortunate than yourself.  You are a multi million pound organisation with over 20,000 employees.  Surely you can provide more support?

 

 

 

 

 

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