Two of Fife Council's Service Managers within the Council's social work service, without consultation whatsoever, have attempted to summon the relatives of eight of the residents in Leslie House to meetings that they have described as "Case Conferences". The "summonses" are contained in letters dated 15th January 2003. The letters say "the purpose of the Case Conferences is to discuss the application of the Adults With Incapacity Act in relation to t he residents' present situation and to explain the process which may take place". (The Act to which the Service Managers are seeking to refer is the Adults With Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 - it is remarkable that they should misquote its title.)

Since August last year, the Head of Social Work has been threatening the relatives with action in terms of the Act if the relatives didn't move the residents out of Leslie House. It is difficult to understand why the Head of Social Work should choose to utilise the Council's resources in this way. The relatives see this latest move as a furtherance of that threat.

The situation is preposterous. The Head of Social Work is seeking to assist the Board of Social Responsibility of the Church of Scotland to achieve vacant possession of Leslie House, so that the Board can sell the property. His zeal in that regard has brought about the current situation whereby less than two weeks notice was given of the first of the eight meetings, the meetings were called without consulting with the relatives to see if the dates were suitable (bearing in mind that some relatives live hundreds of miles from Leslie) and, perhaps most preposterous of all, the relatives have been told, if they are unable to attend the meetings, that the meetings will go ahead but that their views, if they make them known to the Service Managers, will be represented at the meetings!

It is a sad and sorry affair where the Head of Social Work is marshalling the Council's resources to try to force 10 old people out of their home. It is sadder still that the Council's Adult Services Committee is prepared to stand by and let that happen. These old people have served society and are now in the winter of their lives. Most are very frail and all but one of them are demented yet the Head of Social Work, whose first duty is to serve the community, is, instead, serving the aims of the Board of Social Responsibility of the Church of Scotland.

The Service Managers will not be surprised to learn that the dates that they selected to suit their own convenience are not suitable to the relatives. The relatives, who will be pleased to attend any meetings that may impinge on the well being of the residents, through their legal representatives, have advised the Service Managers accordingly. It will be interesting to see if their haste to empty Leslie House is such that the Service Managers will conduct the meetings in the absence of the relatives.