Women's Refuge board chairman Mary Lowe.
A ROW between Health and Social Services and the Women’s Refuge over inspection rights is close to being settled.
Neither side will speak but it is understood that the refuge has given ground and will allow independent assessment of the services it provides.
The alternatives were for HSSD to seek legislation to force the issue or the States to withdraw its funding and/or the use of its property in which the refuge is based.
The refuge has consistently denied refusing access to HSSD inspectors but it has barred them from speaking to staff or clients.
According to a source, there has been progress towards a resolution.
‘It’s a delicate balancing act,’ he said. ‘HSSD want an inspection that will satisfy them that everything is being carried out correctly while the Women’s Refuge want an inspection that will not be too invasive and will not put people off going there if they need to.’
Both parties declined to comment yesterday, although HSSD said a joint statement would be issued at ‘the appropriate time’.
The Women’s Refuge receives an annual grant from Social Security of £20,000 towards its £150,000 per annum running costs and pays the States a peppercorn rent of £100 a year.
Article posted on 30th December, 2009 - 2.30pm
3 Article Comments
Yesterday’s Guernsey Press front page made the claim that is an ongoing row between the HSSD and the Women’s Refuge.
To my knowledge there have been ongoing discussions between the two organisations for some time. The Women’s Refuge have made it known that they have never refused to allow an inspection to take place, and there have been inspections in the past in accordance with the terms of the lease. Quite rightly the Women’s Refuge has been concerned that the inspection should be carried out in a manner that respects the confidentiality that the service has built up over the years.
Why did the Guernsey Press use such a headline to state that the Women’s Refuge has ‘conceded’; it has nothing to concede as H&SSD could send anyone they choose and have been able to do so for many years to inspect the Refuge.
My understanding is that both HSSD and Women’s Refuge are in discussions and these discussions have been helpful. Thankfully the Women’s Refuge will continue to support women, some with children, suffering from domestic abuse and a great deal of thanks must be given to the staff and volunteers of this vital facility.
I think one of the main sticking points in the past has been the difference of legitimate inspection and interference in the way the WR is run. The WR does a fantastic job and I don’t believe it will be improved one jot by officious over zealous meddling from the H&SSD. It isn’t broke and doesn’t need fixing and as Dame Mary Perkins has said it is a facility that is independent of the States and any children in the refuge are in the care of their mothers and are perfectly safe and well. The women themselves are not sick, they find themselves in a difficult period in their lives, support from the Refuge staff has been paramount to hundreds of those seeking such help. The WR has its own board made up of some of the most respected members of our community; it raises its own funds from charitable donations with a very small grant from the States.
It was only a short time ago that the WR in Guernsey won an award – the very prestigious and high accolade of ‘The Queens Award for Voluntary Service 2005’.
I am led to believe the Guernsey Refuge has been used by agencies in the UK, with support of the UK and local police to safeguard women for a short time – would that happen if it wasn’t a well run facility?
I will end by saying that in life things are often much better run without government interference, the Guernsey Woman’s Refuge has been one of Guernsey’s great success stories and would benefit enormously from being left alone to get on with the fantastic job it does every day.
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‘…The WR does a fantastic job and I don’t believe it will be improved one jot by officious over zealous meddling from the H&SSD…’
That would be the HSSD, the States Department then? Which is a States Department just like the Housing Department? Which, Mr Jones, logically, must also be an officious over zealous meddling Department, must it not?
Ladies and gentlemen – Beware of the right wing zealots in our government preventing fair process.
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blah
I am glad you responded, neither I nor the Women’s refuge have or are currently preventing fair process. My point is that there are some services that are run very well by NGO’s and they will not be improved in my view by being inspected incessantly, there are already many checks and balances in place to ensure this service to women has proper standards. I am not sure either why you assume that the Housing department “logically” behaves in that manner, all our policies are subject to legal challenge in the courts.
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