Christian care home boycotted by council

Havering Council has blacklisted a Christian care home after accusations that a homosexual man was turned away because of his sexuality.

According to local press reports, a source close to Parkside Home for the Elderly denied the allegations, and explained that the man was turned away because the home did not have the resources to provide the level of care he needed.

The source said: “The pure issue was that he needed respite care and this absorbs an enormous number of staff that Parkside couldn’t offer.

“I think he mistook that it was because he was gay. He reported that to his social worker. The next thing we knew, Parkside was being called into Social Services and they were asking for the home to be more pro-active.”

Havering Council’s investigation of the home, set up in 1971 by Romford Baptist Church, concluded that its statement of purpose did not match up to the requirements of equality legislation.

As a result, it refused to recommend the care home to prospective residents, despite inspectors rating it “good to excellent”.

The case has come to light following news that a Christian care home in Brighton had £13,000 of funding withdrawn because of accusations that it was ‘homophobic’.

Brighton Council acted after Pilgrim Homes refused to ask its elderly Christian residents about their sexual orientation every three months, and use images of homosexuals in its promotional literature.

The Council insisted on these things despite protests from staff that residents would be upset by the demands.

Revd Ian Bell, a trustee of the Parkside home, said: “We’re not bigots. We don’t ask residents questions about their sexuality. It’s a non-issue for us.”

The manager of the home, Gillian Littleboy, said she was “disappointed” by the Council’s response.

She said: “We believe our practice and statement of purpose complies with the Government’s Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007.”

The Council has reportedly refused to say whether it would recommend Parkside in future.

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