STAFF working with some of the city’s most vulnerable people are prepared to strike over concerns about the service being outsourced.

Brighton and Hove City Council staff in the learning disability accommodation service have voted unanimously to take industrial action over plans to transfer the service to charity Grace Eyre from the start of next month.

Unison is calling for a three month delay in the transfer to rectify the “unprecedented” decision by the council not to consult staff on contractual changes.

The union has also claimed the council has agreed to provide the Hove charity with relief staff for up to three months because it does not have sufficient staff to cover the contract.

A council spokesman said the authority was “confident” the care offered by Grace Eyre will be “at least as good” and “in many respects even better” than currently provided by the council.

He said union concerns had been heard by a cross-party group of councillors in a formal grievance procedure but none had been upheld.

The move will affect around 50 staff based at four sites in the city – Beaconsfield Villas, Mantell House and Hawkurst Road in Brighton and Rutland Gardens in Hove. The members work with around 20 adults.

Unison and the GMB have raised “multiple concerns at every level of the council” following the commissioning of reports by the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) which heavily criticised the council’s commissioning, procurement and business decision to privatise the service.

APSE, which advises more than 300 UK councils, criticised a lack of evidence to support assertions for the changes.

Sue Beatty, Unison branch secretary, said: “As APSE has set out, while it is impossible to ignore the financial pressures which face the council, neither review has looked beyond a desire to reduce the cost of these services.”

Unison official Kelly Hannah-Rogers, said: “It is unprecedented for a local authority not to consult ahead of a privatisation, passing the buck to the incoming employer.

“It is extremely regrettable that the council has taken such a negative approach, particularly given all the concerns that we have raised.”

A council spokesman said: “Grace Eyre is a well-known and respected local charity with an excellent track record in providing high quality care and support.

“We are committed to continuing to work with our trade union representatives and our partners at Grace Eyre to try and make sure industrial action is avoided.

“The Grace Eyre Foundation has been judged outstanding for caring in its most recent inspection by the CQC and also has a Gold Investors in People award.”