Care home ‘hadn’t paid council tax for 5 years’
CENTRE FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH AUTISM RATED ‘INADEQUATE’ BY WATCHDOG
A FAILING care home for young adults with autism was threatened with bailiff letters over unpaid bills, the health watchdog has said.
Council tax at Cliffemount Community Care had not been paid for five years – and the home had been without insurance for nine months – according to a damning Quality Commission (CQC) report.
Criminal checks had also not been carried out for four years.
Inspectors said they had ‘serious concerns’ over the financial management of the Altrincham home.
It was rated ‘inadequate’ and put into special measures following an inspection last month. CQC chiefs visited following claims from a whistleblower about the company’s finances and the way the home was being run.
Inspectors said utility bills had not been paid for some time, resulting in letters being sent to the home threatening action by bailiffs.
The CQC report said company bosses claimed they thought people living there were supposed to pay council tax. The report said: “The whistleblower had told us that the provider had not paid bills, which had led to court orders and bailiff letters stating they would visit the home to seize goods if the amounts owed were not paid. Our investigations have shown the provider had not paid the council tax due for the home since 2013.
“We asked the provider about this and they claimed that they had been advised the people living at the home were liable to pay the council tax.
“However, this is not the case for registered care homes and this fact is easily verified. The council was sending reminders to the provider about the council tax and a payment plan was only agreed when it went to court.”
The CQC also said the home’s public liability insurance was cancelled in August 2017 due to ‘non-payment.’
A new policy was purchased following the inspection, but it meant the company had been uninsured for nine months. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks had not been carried out for three years, the report added.
The home was rated inadequate in the ‘safe’ and ‘well-led’ categories and ‘requires improvement’ in terms of ‘effectiveness.’ Inspectors said the home was ‘good’ in both the ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’ categories.
A spokeswoman for Trafford council said: “We are working with Cliffemount to improve the quality of care for the residents. We have suspended new placements and Trafford currently do not have any people placed there.”
Cliffemount Community Care has been approached for comment.