Another vulnerable eviction?
YESTERDAY it was Canal & River Trust (CaRT) threatening to evict two elderly boaters with health problems from a marina. Today comes news that it is poised to seize a boat belonging to a vulnerable boater in the Burton-on-Trent area, leaving him homeless, writes Allan Richards.
Afraid to leave it
Steve James, a recluse with mental health issues, osteoarthritis and liver disease which, he claims, make it hard for him to move, is threatened with seizure of his boat by the Trust. He is now afraid to leave it unattended.
He has provided the Trust with documentation regarding his health issues, which he says they have ignored, and has twice attended court but can no longer fight his case due to mounting costs.
No comment
Unlike the case of mentally ill boater Lesley Horn, perhaps better known to narrowboatworld readers as ‘Maggie' the Trust has not ‘named and shamed' him by providing details of the court order it has obtained against him confirming that they are empowered to seize his boat and make him homeless.
Indeed, the Trust says it is not prepared to comment on this latest eviction.
Does it wish to hide that they are seemingly targeting vulnerable boaters?
Little progress?
At face value, it would appear that little progress has been made on CaRT's treatment of its vulnerable customers. The call for appointment of a Trust welfare manager by NABO (backed by AWCC) has been met with the response that it is one of 'a number of options being considered'.
What those other options are the Trust does not say. Perhaps, apart from the ‘do nothing' option, they don't really exist.
No procedures, policy or guidance
.... and then we have Freedom of Information request from NABO officer, Simon Robbins asking about what checks and balances take place before initiating court proceedings. Having delayed for a month, the Trust finally admitted ‘We do not currently have any general formal procedures, policies, guidance or other standing written instructions....'.
However, the Trust only answered half the request as Mr Robbins points out when asking the Trust to carry out a review, stating:
‘Thank you for the initial response to the first section of my question. However you do not appear to have addressed the second part of my original request viz:
Please also confirm who in CaRT is formally authorised to issue such court proceedings against residential boaters and what if any formal 'sign off' process is applied.
I would be grateful if you would conduct an internal review to explain why your response is silent on this item and if possible.
Please now provide a direct answer to this part of my request'.
Not even acknowledged
Some two weeks after it was made, the request for review has not even been acknowledged.
Simon Salem, CaRT's Marketing Director, is responsible for ensuring that the Trust discharges its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
Simon Salem is the director responsible for CaRT's 50 or so enforcement staff.
Perhaps the silence is due to Mr Salem not wishing to put his hand up as the director responsible for initiating court proceedings that result in vulnerable boaters being made homeless.