Blind face dole queue as axe falls on charity

BlindCraft, which employs around 70 people and has been operating in Edinburgh since 1793, makes beds that are then sold to clients including universities, hospitals and hotels.

It was hit by a slump in sales during the recession though, meaning it has had to rely more on council funding. The city council, which provides more than 1 million in an annual subsidy to the charity, wants to reduce its funding by at least 700,000.

Councillors are now being asked to either close the charity completely or dramatically reduce the number of staff it employs - an option that would only provide around half of the required savings.

BlindCraft clinched a lucrative contract with John Lewis in 2008 that it hoped would mean its income could cover its costs. But recently it has become more reliant on council funding after the recession hit sales.

Labour councillor Ewan Aitken, a former council leader, today hit out at the proposals to close down the famous Craigmillar company where around half of the staff are disabled.

He said: "The administration put a 700,000 saving in their budget and that suggests they have already taken the decision to close.

"I think most people understand that BlindCraft plays a crucial role in providing a high quality of life for people who otherwise could become isolated.

"This is not just a commercial operation and this cut is an attack on really vulnerable people."

BlindCraft saw sales slump by 22 per cent in 2009/10, to 1.58 million.

It is estimated that total costs for 2010-11 will be 3m, around half of which relates to payroll, so income is likely to again be well short of expenditure.

In a report set to go before councillors, Peter Gabbitas, director of the city council's health and social care department, said: "In order to reduce the deficit, new business markets have been explored which have focused on improving the financial returns.

"Whilst this approach has made some impact in reducing the deficit, progress in these markets - including hotels and retailers - has been slow to develop.

"Despite creating new products and gaining new contracts, such as commercial hotels, the current financial climate remains difficult, with general trading conditions in the wider bedding market reflecting the challenging times ahead and further indicated by the number of National Bed Federation members going into administration in the last year."

Negotiations are already under way with trade unions on the two proposals. If it was closed, the extra 400,000 on top of the proposed 700,000 saving would then be re-invested in "employment opportunities for disabled people".

The separate option, to create a "training model" for BlindCraft, would see the "full-time equivalent" number of staff reduce from 58 to 44.5, and that would include 11 trainees instead of permanent staff.

Labour councillors are now drawing up a "third option" for the company that could see it become a "social enterprise". However, it is not yet clear whether it would be able to survive without public funds.

A city council spokesman said: "In recent years the BlindCraft management and workforce have achieved substantial successes including securing valuable commercial contracts, improving product awareness, developing the workforce and controlling material costs.

"However, everyone is aware of the difficult financial decisions facing the council, which has financially supported the organisation by in excess of 1m per annum for many years.

"BlindCraft's management has been in extensive dialogue with unions and staff-side representatives to actively identify measures to reduce the level of deficit funding required, currently forecast to have been stabilised at 1m a year.

"We need to find ways of helping the organisation to operate on a firmer financial footing whilst achieving savings of 700,000 in 2011/12.

"We have been in discussion with trade unions and staff to try to identify measures to make BlindCraft more sustainable and we now need to enter into a statutory consultation period over the recommended options.

"We have also set up a special team involving Human Resources, Supported Employment, Benefits Advice and Social Work to help support staff through this period of uncertainty."