Divide and rule – J Alexander plans a meeting at Stranraer ARC. Better count your fingers after any hand shake!

The “uncaring and untrustworthy” (see  Galloway News article ) Social Work Director J Alexander plans to hold a meeting at Stranraer ARC.  Having refused to meet as a wider group covering all 6 ARCs,  he now wishes to ‘divide and rule’, picking off the individual ARCs one by one.  No doubt he hopes and expects to minimise any resistance and then be able to report to Elected Members that there is no problem.   Director Alexander has no answers to our questions and is not providing the requested information.

What is the state of maintenance at Stranraer?  Is there a waiting list?  Is the ARC fully staffed, or is he trying the well established Council tactic of ‘death by a thousand cuts’?  Note he clearly stated on Dec 16th that the ARCs are “not cost effective”, but despite his promises has provided no factual evidence to support this.  That and other failures justifies the public branding as untrustworthy.  He intends the ARC be closed and is prepared to play a long waiting game, issuing plausible platitudes meanwhile.  The events of October and since evidence that at heart he is “uncaring” about the service users and families seemingly only really concerned about saving money and looking good in terms of his budgets.

No one can now trust what he says is either true or will be actioned.  If that is how a boss behaves what example is that for the staff?  Consider all that he has not done as he promised on Dec 16th, when blaming Elected Members for the Alexander/Proctor closure plan, effectively saying ‘not me guv’!  This is the situation where we really should count our fingers after any hand shake!

Perhaps the Stranraer ARC focus group will invite representatives from all the other five ARCs to be present as well, so all can see what is said and ask relevant questions?  If you advise the date and plans as a comment to this site, it can then be openly published for all to see and suggestions for questions can be shared.  As a start, let’s get the answers Director Alexander promised on Dec 16th and all the outstanding FoI data being kept hidden and secret.  For example was Stranraer one of the four ARCs intended for closure by Alexander/Proctor in phase one of their planned cost cuts?  No wonder they refuse to release the papers, otherwise what have they got to hide?