‘We might not have liked the answers but they would have been answers’
A Thurso Highland councillor has spoken of his frustration at being repeatedly rebuffed by officials in his long-time bid to discover information about two far north care facilities.
Matthew Reiss revealed that he has been waiting five months to get a response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request he submitted to the council’s Inverness headquarters.
He is among a group of local elected representatives unhappy about the circumstances surrounding the closure of Wick’s Avonlea children’s home and the prolonged suspension of short-stay respite care at Thor House in Thurso.
Thurso Community Council has also been repeatedly thwarted in his attempts to have more light shed on the two issues.
Highland councillors in May knocked back a call for the commissioning of an independent inquiry on the convener’s casting vote following a 31-31 tie.
Councillor Reiss revealed his patience is now wearing thin.
He said he has taken an interest since “inadvertently” finding out that the service at Thor House had stopped and that Avonlea was under threat. The latter closed its doors two years ago.
Speaking at the most recent community council meeting, Councillor Reiss said: “For the first time in 10 years as a councillor, I put in a FoI request to my own council to see why Thor had stopped providing what is an essential service and why Avonlea was closed.
“If the council had just sent somebody to give us answers to these simple questions, we might not have liked the answers but they would have been answers.
“The FoI went in in June and I’m still waiting for an answer.”
Community councillor Bert Macleod said it is important the community council continues to pursue its efforts to uncover the truth. “This is the most important thing that has come in front of us for years,” he said.
Mr Macleod added: “The councillors in this area are ignored. If you’re not in Inverness, they are not interested.”
This provoked a defence of the local authority by Thurso Highland councillor Karl Rosie.
He said: “I haven’t come across the position of Highland Council not providing answers to questions. I’ve never had that problem.”
He added: “If you provide me with the information you are wanting, I’ll be more than glad to follow it up for you.”
After the meeting, Councillor Reiss said: “The office has been in touch and told me they are still working on my FoI.”
The council recently announced that respite care is to resume at Thor, though gave no details of when this would happen.
Following the suspension of this service, the four-bedroom unit in Provost Cormack Drive was redeployed to care for looked-after children.
Avonlea, meanwhile, is being earmarked as a base for Wick High children with special needs.
Highland Council has been asked for a response.
