Investigation as Sandwell councillor accused of ‘discriminating against vulnerable people’

Councillor Jay Anandou, who represents the Old Warley ward, shared images of a care home’s littered driveway and asked his Facebook followers “is this acceptable to local residents?”.

In the since-deleted post, Councillor Anandou described the scene as “Sandwell’s version of housing young adults with special needs among local residents”.

Some constituents accused the Conservative councillor of discriminating against vulnerable adults – a claim Mr Anandou vehemently denied.

One said: “This is not what I would expect of a local councillor; discriminating against people with certain needs and encouraging the general public to do the same. These people need protection, not to be pounced upon, harassed and intimidated by elected officials.”

Another said: “I was surprised to see his post because it came across like he was stirring up a sensitive issue and rallying his troops for a pile on. Sharing pictures of the home, despite it being troubled, alongside his criticism, is not a good look.”

Councillor Anandou said he had deleted the post, but added he was “surprised” by backlash, as locals had contacted him with concerns about the home which was rated ‘inadequate overall’ by CQC inspectors in November 2022.

Labour-controlled Sandwell Council has launched an investigation into Councillor Anandou’s conduct.

He added: “I believe the nearby residents are almost unanimous in their despair and dire need for the situation to improve. However, any claim of me discriminating against the occupants, or encouraging anyone to do the same, is categorically false. My objective is to represent and improve the lives of all my residents.

“I want to explicitly state that I do not condone or advocate any ill treatment, prejudice or blame towards the occupants of the house. The sole purpose of the post was to raise awareness of the obvious safeguarding failures of the site management and council. These are vulnerable people, they need to be adequately supported and helped.”

Councillor Anandou said he believes the occupants of the home are “not being given the support they need” and that neighbours are having to “deal with the aftermath of all this neglect”.

“They have a right to a peaceful life,” he said.

A mum, who lives next door to the care home, said she and her family are struggling to sleep at night due to “24/7 noise” from the property. She said: “We’ve had all sorts of items thrown onto our drive and into our gardens.”

The school teacher added that Councillor Anandou had been “wonderful” and was “the first person to take my situation on”.

“He came over as soon as he was contacted,” she said.

Councillor Anandou said he will “keep shining a light on the situation” until the vulnerable adults “are properly supported” and “the lives of the residents are no longer affected.”

A Sandwell Council spokesperson said: “Concerns have been raised with the council about the social media post and the conduct of an elected member.

“At no time did Councillor Anandou raise his concerns with the council before the social media post. The post was removed following intervention by the council. We’re investigating the way this has been raised on social media following complaints it has received about the post on Facebook.”

The care home has been approached for comment.