Stuart Macdonald
It is not every day that the home secretary appears in court as a witness, but that is precisely what happened in London on Tuesday.
Take care
In calling Alan Johnson to give evidence in her defence against disciplinary charges laid by her professional regulator, campaigning solicitor Yvonne Hossack achieved a considerable PR coup. Whether it is enough to win her case remains to be seen, but this is just one battle in the war she has been waging over the abolition of live-in wardens in sheltered housing. That campaign has shown signs of swinging in her favour, with all the interest generated in the national press.
This is not to say that the future of social care and care of older people should be a rush into the paternalistic embrace of live-in wardens for all. But Ms Hossack may well succeed in giving care providers pause for thought as they ponder where to swing the axe in order to balance the books.
It is a fact however, much as Gordon Brown finally admitted at the TUC this week, that cuts are vital if care providers - particularly charitable ones - are to continue as viable businesses. As Bruce Moore, chief executive of Hanover, argues on page 29, cuts alone are not enough - the fundamentals of how we care for our burgeoning older population will have to be rethought.
The unprecedented court case brought this week by a group of care providers against 140 local authorities over the fees they receive for services is simply the first scene in what is set to be a lengthy drama.
Housing 21 has already shown its hand and its bold strategy to grow by acquisition, with a £19.5 million offer to buy rival publicly-quoted care provider Claimar Care (Inside Housing, 4 September). Will other providers follow suit as City sources, eagerly scenting further deals, predict?
With all this upheaval in the care sector, Anchor Trust could well argue that ensuring it retains the services of a proven, talented chief executive is more important than ever to guarantee a good service to its clients.
However, I suspect that Anchor chief executive John Belcher is unlikely to find Alan Johnson or many others rushing to defend his £391,000 pay package.
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