An apology from the Director of Social Care says that “officers provided (the committee) with answers which were wrong and other officers failed to take opportunities to correct misunderstandings.” The letter refers to an enclosed report that has not been made been public, even in redacted reform, prompting further concerns about the lack of openness and transparency.

In response, Cllr Matt Bennett (Con, Edgbaston) Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care said: “The plans of the council to reduce the use of Day Centres, which first appeared in budget plans five years ago are not only ill-conceived but have been shockingly mishandled from the outset, causing unnecessary stress and uncertainty for service users as well as additional costs to tax payers including legal challenges.

“To now find that we were misled over information that helped shape their plans is sadly not surprising but it does further show the contempt for which service users and carers have been held by this administration for the last five years as they have had the threat of closure hanging over them amidst a stream of shifting goal posts and broken promises from a council that consistently fails to listen or be honest.”

The Conservative Group have questioned why the investigation report has not been published. Cllr Peter Fowler (Con, Harborne) said, “The letter and report were sent to the Scrutiny Chair in mid-August but was shared with the rest of the committee only last week. Even now the report itself has not been made public, but I can see no justifiable reason for that to be the case.