Exclusive: Reform UK councillor threatens legal action to shut down debate over Lancashire care home closures
Emails seen by The Lead show the councillor, through Lancashire County Council staff, issuing legal threats after his role in private care was questioned.
A Reform UK councillor threatened legal action after an opposition councillor raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest in plans to close care homes, The Lead can exclusively reveal.
Cllr Graham Dalton, Reform UK’s cabinet member for adult social care at Lancashire County Council, is co-owner and director of private care provider First for Care GB Limited.
Cllr Kim Snape, county councillor for Chorley Rural East representing Labour, had said that Cllr Dalton could profit from the potential closure of the care facilities.
The Lead has seen emails which show Dalton had threatened legal action after the suggestion he could profit from any care home closures.
A senior member of staff at Lancashire County Council wrote to Cllr Snape and said: “He advises that he is seeking legal advice on the allegations contained.”
But now Cat Smith, Labour’s MP for Lancaster and Wyre – a constituency home to one of the under-threat sites – has said it’s just common sense Dalton should need to declare his interest.
She tells The Lead: “It seems to me that if a councillor who is a director of a social care company is not required to declare an interest when consulting on the closure of adult day care centres – an issue in which they could potentially benefit – then the council’s rules need reform.
“Any reasonable person would expect a councillor in such circumstances to declare an interest. It’s just common sense.”
Nik Williams, of Index on Censorship, told The Lead that the threat of legal action from Cllr Dalton was alarming.
He said: “It is concerning to see vital points of public interest such as the provision of adult social care to be the subject of a potential legal threat.
“Elected officials must be free to ask questions and highlight concerns, especially those raised by their constituents, in an open and transparent manner.
“The threat of legal action could severely hinder discussion and public accountability, while also sending a message to others to avoid the topic altogether.”
Lancashire County Council said they do not believe there is a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest to declare in Dalton’s role at First for Care GB Limited but they advised him to make it known at the start of meetings – which he did for the first time at the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee on 5 November.
Dalton had previously said: “I have decades of experience in the healthcare industry as a registered nurse, and I am also the part owner in a healthcare company which provides complex nursing and healthcare support for people in their own homes.
“I do not financially benefit from any decisions made by the County Council, nor do I hold any pecuniary interests that would influence my role as a councillor.”
But the First for Care GB Limited website states that they offer services ranging from ‘simple to complex care’ which suggests there could be an overlap.
Cllr Snape said the lack of transparency has been “a disgrace”.
In total, there are ten Lancashire County Council-run residential homes and day centres facilities that are the subject of a controversial review that will assess their viability after the buildings from which they operate were deemed to be in “significantly poor condition”.
A public consultation is currently under way into the possible “reprovision” of the services – five care homes and five day centres – which could see them shut next year. The authority stresses no decision has been made. The Progressive Lancashire opposition, made up of independent and Green members, said if that was the case then there would not be a timeframe established for moving residents from their homes.
One of the sites is home to a 106-year-old woman, and the plans have led to widespread pushback from opposition councillors and concerned families alike.■
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