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Social care asked to fund masseuse sex visit

By Victoria Corbett
August 31, 2010

A request to use Wokingham taxpayers’ cash to fund a visit to an Oxford masseuse for sex was turned down by council bosses.

The revelation comes after it was revealed in the national press a social care user from another area of England had been granted permission to use taxpayers’ cash to fund a trip to Amsterdam for sex with a prostitute.

The flexibility of the Putting People First scheme, which offers looked-after adults the chance to decide how to spend their own care budgets as they see fit, means it is open to some unusual requests.

Wokingham Borough Council’s Putting People First scheme has been running for around three years and in that time hundreds of people have used their budgets to fund help at home and activities to better their quality of life.

Stuart Rowbotham, general manager of community care services, said had the Amsterdam request come to staff at Wokingham it would have been turned down.

He added the council had received a similar request under its direct payment scheme, which was similar to Putting People First, four years ago.

He said: “It’s very hard to give absolutely concrete guidance on these things. That’s why we have a special panel looking at risk.

“They deal with issues where support request comes back which indicates someone wants to spend money in a peculiar or different way.

“It will go to this panel to determine risk and if it is meeting a critical need. I can say categorically we would never approve a personal budget for someone to go abroad to use any sexual service, particularly because what do we know about that sexual service?

“Are people being abused? It would be impossible for us to know if that would be safe for the individual.

“We had a request for someone to use a masseur in a particularly well-known area of Oxford. That was turned down.”

Mr Rowbotham said sexual needs were part of the human condition and so there were ethical issues with supporting people with a profound physical disability and each case is different.

He said: “There has been whole books given over to how this works. I think you appreciate what you really can’t do things by a handbook in each and every circumstance.

“Each case needs to be considered on its own merits, however the council would never procure sex on behalf on an individual.”

He added the Putting People First scheme has strict conditions in place and money can not be used to fund anything illegal.

Activities funded by the scheme over the last few years have included dance and horse riding lessons, as well as help in the home to address people’s care needs and quality of life issues.

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I actually understand things like dance and horse riding lessons for VULNERABLE adults. These could be people who have been abused or have disabilities, and things like this can help them learn valuable inter-personal skills that others pick up from relatively normal lives. As long as the lessons aren't hugely expensive one-on-one with celebrity teachers I don't see it as much of a problem.

Bear in mind I say this when the last time I went away on holiday was about 5 years ago (abroad or the UK) because I just can't afford it.

CMA
01/09/2010 at 19:42

I can understand the request being turned down but why were dancing and horse riding lessons allowed? I would benefit from some foreign travel to enhance my life but I suppose that would be out of the question. Seems that the only ones being screwed here are the Wokingham council tax payers.