Concerns have been raised by charities after the British National Party unveiled a plan to help elderly people in their homes.
The Help in Hand project for Corsham was launched by the far-right party this week with the aim of assisting the elderly with difficult tasks around the home. Age Concern Wiltshire operates similar schemes across the county and spokesperson Penny Church said there were several key criteria people entering the homes of the elderly should fulfil.
Mrs Church said: "Any scheme such as the project the BNP is suggesting should be made available across the whole community without restriction. Anyone visiting the homes of the elderly must have undergone a personal check by the Criminal Records Bureau. Those people must be made aware of the issues affecting vulnerable and elderly people and there must be a support network in place to support those people."
Adverts for the new service say BNP representatives will only visit at the request of home owners, but the North Wiltshire Care and Repair organisation has expressed concerns regarding anyone with a political agenda entering the homes of the elderly.
Project manager Becky Bell said Care and Repair only employed people who had undergone checks for criminal records and who had been insured for the tasks asked of them.
Mrs Bell said: "If I was advising elderly and disabled people on what to do to get help in the home, I would tell them to go to a recognised organisation such as Age Concern or ourselves. I would never allow anybody into my home that had not been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau and had not been validated by an official body."
BNP Corsham town councillor Michael Simpkins confirmed the service would be rolled out across Corsham this week and said it would be available to anybody in the community in need. Cllr Simpkins said most of those people taking part in the visits had been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau as part of their everyday employment. He added: "The people we will send around will be vetted and known to us."
Bath Chronicle
May 18, 2007
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3 comments:
'...as long as people are vetted there is no problem'
Vetted by who, the BNP? Run by a criminal who had, until very recently, a terrorist bomber as his right-hand man and a Hitler-admirer as one of his best friends? A party with estremely strong connections to the Ku Klux Klan? A party packed with hate-filled criminals, thugs, thieves and liars? You must be kidding.
I think it's fair to say there are very few former SS members left in Britain who would benefit from help by the BNP anyway.
I bet there's a couple though
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