Further calls for Norfolk county councillor to resign after High Court ruling
Bill Borrett, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for adult social care. - Credit: Matthew Usher
Disability campaigners have joined calls for a Norfolk county councillor to resign, after a High Court judge ruled the authority acted unlawfully over care cost changes.
Members of the Disability Network Norfolk Group said Bill Borrett, County Hall's cabinet member for adult social care, should step down from his role following the judgement earlier this month.
That ruling came after a young Norfolk woman with Down Syndrome challenged the council's decision through a judicial review.
It has meant the authority had to repay more than 3,000 people who had seen the cost of their care go up as a result of the decision.
Opposition councillors had called for Conservative Mr Borrett to step down and Disability Network Norfolk Group - which has some 500 members - has now also said he should go.
Disabled people, their parents and carers had protested about the changes. Pic: Philip Williams. - Credit: Philip Williams
A spokesperson for the group said: "We feel that going forward we cannot rely on Mr Borrett to advocate for and make the right decisions on behalf of us, the disabled people he is meant to be responsible for and champion in his role as cabinet member for adult social care.
"We therefore consider it would be remiss of us, as a group, not to publicly state a lack of confidence in the cabinet member for adult social care at Norfolk County Council.
"We therefore call for him to resign."
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An online petition calling for Mr Borrett to resign has been signed by more than 130 people.
But Mr Borrett said: "The decision was made to bring Norfolk County Councils charging policy in line with the government’s guidance and the policy already adopted by most other similar councils.
"This decision was taken by members at a full council meeting.
"The council has accepted the judicial review’s result and has agreed to rectify it.
"The judge observed that the discrimination was inadvertent and had been unintended.
"I have already assured everyone that a report will come to the next cabinet meeting with the council's solution."
