Month: February 2012

Exclusive: Merseyside Police Authority fails to set Budget for 2012/2013

At an exciting afternoon meeting of the Merseyside Police Authority councillors and independent members failed to agree a Budget. Although a majority were in favour of a 3% increase in the police element of Council Tax for Merseyside residents amounting to £2.92 extra a year for Band A and £4.39 extra a year for Band D, … Continue reading “Exclusive: Merseyside Police Authority fails to set Budget for 2012/2013”

At an exciting afternoon meeting of the Merseyside Police Authority councillors and independent members failed to agree a Budget. Although a majority were in favour of a 3% increase in the police element of Council Tax for Merseyside residents amounting to £2.92 extra a year for Band A and £4.39 extra a year for Band D, a majority of councillors were not.

As such the Budget could not be agreed and the Merseyside Police Authority members will be asking the public before they decide which of two options they go for. The two options are:-

Option 1) Accept a Council Tax Freeze grant from the government. Council Tax precepts for Merseyside residents would stay at last year’s level.

Option 2) Refuse a Council Tax Freeze grant and increase the police element of the Council Tax for Merseyside residents by 3%. This would be an increase of £2.92 (a year) for Band A or £4.39 (a year) for Band D.

As the Council Tax Freeze grant is one-off, if opted for by the Police Authority it will lead to greater savings having to be found next year by whoever is elected as Police Commissioner.

As the Merseyside Police Authority failed to agree a Budget the meeting was adjourned.  You can vote below in our poll and the papers and reports for the meeting used to be able to be found on Merseyside Police Authority’s website, but since it was abolished in November 2012 and replaced with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner they’re no longer available.

Oh and for further information you can read this BBC News article on it.

Wirral Council meeting (13th February 2012) Leader Cllr Foulkes loses second no confidence vote

There was drama and excitement last night as Cllr Foulkes tried to persuade the Tory and Lib Dem councillors to let him stay on as Leader of Wirral Council.

A debate on the HESPE report and AKA report was adjourned partly due to the HESPE report not being ready (despite an earlier assurance it would be) and councillors grumbling over all the blacked out sections of the AKA report that they hadn’t been allowed to see.

Cllr Foulkes felt this wasn’t fair. He said he was worried about justice and claimed he would be sacked before getting a chance to debate the report [Ed – it’s an office he held, not employment so he can’t be “sacked” just voted out].

He wanted the whole thing adjourned to the 20th February and that he would be “seeking independent legal advice”. The Mayor decided to hear the no confidence motions in him anyway. Cllr Harney and Cllr Green both outlined why they wanted Cllr Foulkes to go.

Cllr Phil Davies gave an impassioned defence of Cllr Foulkes, stating that he “doesn’t believe it’s right or just to place the entire blame on Steve Foulkes”. He pointed out how the issues dated back to 1997, through three different leaders, two chief executives and various Directors of Adult Social Services. He said there was a strong argument that all political parties on the Council should take the blame as to why they didn’t take action or ask questions.

He said the “nasty, personal attacks on Steve” were “bang out of order” and that Labour would not take part in a three party Cabinet leaving the Tories and Lib Dems to run it as a Coalition or collaboration.

Cllr John Hale finished his speech by saying, “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!” which sums up a lot of what the Conservative councillors had to say.

Impassioned speeches were made in defence of Cllr Foulkes, Cllr Kenny pleaded with them to wait until the May elections. Cllr Steve Williams compared Cllr Foulkes to an incompetent surgeon who needed to be removed before he does any more harm. Cllr Adam Sykes’ speech was interrupted by the Mayor, keen that he used the word alleged in respect of things alleged in the AKA report.

Cllr Foulkes said he was not in it to seek personal gain but wanted to point out what had been done. He apologised again to Martin Morton and anybody who had suffered a detriment in the past. He said they had got it “horribly wrong on Fairer Charging” and got heckled by someone from the public gallery shouting “he hasn’t got his job back”.

The Mayor gave a stern warning to the public gallery and said it was the last warning that if there was any further disruption she would order it cleared.

Cllr Foulkes referred to an unspecified “disgraceful blog” and said he was sorry if sticking ruthlessly to Anna’s recommendations had been misinterpreted by Cllr Tom Harney as lack of involvement. He wanted to make it clear to people in the public gallery that he had apologised and pointed out he had disbanded the Corporate Governance Committee and set up an Improvement Board. Cllr Foulkes said he tried to do things in an open and honest fashion, but that he couldn’t trust Cllr Green [Leader of the Tories] as far as he could throw him.

There were harsh words between the Mayor and Cllr Foulkes who finished by saying he was “not begging for my job”.

Cllr Green said he was not one for Standards Board complaints, but that Cllr Foulkes had called his trustworthiness into question. Cllr Foulkes was forced to apologise.

Cllr Stuart Kelly mentioned the senior officers who had been implicated had left under the cover of a compromise agreement, did this contain a gagging clause? He said “the cover up continues” and compared it to Watergate. He did acknowledge that Cllr Foulkes had “been badly advised” but that not to pay a price and resign diminished him.

Various other councillors spoke either for or against Cllr Foulkes’ removal as Leader. After all the speeches the meeting was adjourned. The Lib Dem motion of no confidence was combined with the Tory motion and went to the vote.

In favour to remove Cllr Foulkes were 36 councillors, against were 30, so he was removed as Leader of Wirral Council. After another adjournment there was a vote as to whether Cllr Phil Davies should be Leader. Thirty voted for and 36 voted against.

There was then a vote on Cllr Jeff Green as Leader, and he was elected Leader by 36 votes to 30. The Mayor asked Cllr Green to make an acceptance speech.

Cllr Green thanked Council for the confidence placed in him and that he wouldn’t name his Cabinet now. He hoped for an all party Cabinet and thought it was “genuinely important to find ways of working together”. He wanted the trust to be regained in Wirral Council and was going to defer Budget Cabinet from the 20th February to the 21st February. He would also send the Budget to the Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee to allow it to be scrutinised. Cllr Green wanted to accelerate the work of the Local Democracy Working Party.

He wanted a pause to reflect if the new management model for the Department of Adult Social Services was the best model. Cllr Green also wanted the Audit and Risk Management Committee to “be more activist”.

Cllr Green then answered a question from myself on the redacted parts of the AKA report. He said he wanted the maximum amount of information shown in public, but that he had to be responsible and speak to Bill Norman.

There were then a series of votes on the motions and the meeting finished soon after.

Merseytravel 9/2/2012 2012/13 Budget Meeting Mersey Tunnels, Mersey Ferries Limited subsidy

Everyone was present, so the Chair Cllr Mark Dowd started the meeting at 2.30pm by wishing everyone a very pleasant time. He asked for declarations of interest. Cllr Chris Blakeley declared an interest as a Fast Tag holder and an interest in item 5 as a recipient of allowances from Merseytravel.

The Chair declared an interest for everyone else in item 5. He asked if the minutes were ok? They were and agreed. The Chair then wanted to move a recommendation c in respect of the item on the Mersey Tunnel tolls. Cllr Chris Blakeley said he wished to move an amendment (which is below).

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AMENDMENTS SHEET

MERSEYSIDE INTEGRATED TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

Authority/Committee/Sub-Committee: Integrated Transport Authority Budget Meeting

Date: 09 February, 2012

Agenda Item/Minute No: Item 3 – Mersey Tunnel Tolls

Amendment moved by: Councillor Chris Blakeley. Seconded by: Cllr Les Rowlands

11 Recommendations

Accept all recommendations and add new clause (d)

(d) The Authority asks the Interim Director General / Director of Resources to investigate the cost implications, as well as any implications to the Tunnels Act 2004 of bring forward a further discount for Fast Tag users in order to reduce the burden of tolls on regular users of the Mersey Tunnels.      The results of that investigation to be brought back to an Authority meeting in October 2012 prior to the review of the Mersey Tunnel Tolls for 2013 as per the Tunnels Act 2004.

C/MISCELL / SR / DW

23rd July 1991

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He said he “won’t keep us too long” as he was not calling for tunnel tolls to be removed. He was not going to shout for immediate reductions. He felt that the 2004 Act had taken away some of their powers, as they couldn’t vote against an increase, but they did have the power to discount. He had trouble with the Tunnels Act but was delighted that tolls would not increase. The small reduction he asked for Fast Tag users had been circulated.

The Chair said Cllr Blakeley’s motion was ” ill-conceived” as the Tunnels Act had been agreed by Merseytravel before going to the House of Lords. He said they should be doing this anyway, so why do what they should be doing?

Another councillor said wasn’t Cllr Blakeley up for election, therefore wasn’t this political?

Cllr Blakeley said he moved an amendment every year and there was nothing peculiar.

The Chair asked for a vote on the amendment. Five voted for the amendment (including Cllr Blakeley and Cllr Rowlands). The others voted against the amendment so the amendment was lost.

All councillors ten voted in favour of the original motion.

The Chair moved the meeting onto the 2012/13 Budget.

Jim Barclay introduced the report.

A councillor asked where the £2.985 million grant came from for the ferries?

The answer given was that Mersey Ferries Limited was a limited company, the subsidy was reduced in order to trade in line with its constitution. He was thanked.

Another councillor pointed out an error on page 31 in the 4th paragraph. Jim apologised for the error.

The councillors approved the 2012/13 Budget unanimously.

The last report on the agenda was the independent review of Members Allowances. The Chair welcomed Professor Hall and also circulated a recommendation from the Labour Group to not accept an increase in the Basic Allowance or Chair’s Allowance.

Cllr Chris Blakeley welcomed what had been moved, but asked for clarification. Were they accepting the other recommendations?

Bidston & St. James/Claughton Area Forum 8/2/2012 Quote of the evening: Cllr Steve Foulkes

The quote of the evening goes to Cllr Foulkes who stated:-

“I get the blame for everything else these days so I may as well accept the blame.” in regards to his Cabinet’s decision to transfer of the River Streets Community Centre to Wallasey Gymnastic Club at a 99 year peppercorn rent and its partial demolition.

The prize for persistently asking a question in about a dozen different ways goes to Charlie Wright, who only stopped when local police Inspector McGregor asked him to.

Cllr Foulkes also said he’s “not going to try to rewrite history” that he “can’t rewrite history” and described Birkenhead Town Centre as “dying on its feet”.

But wasn’t it Cllr Foulkes’ Cabinet in a behind closed doors meeting that sold off the Wirral Council car parks there to Asda which affected trade in Birkenhead? The recession had some role to play, but Asda clearly accelerated the demise of some businesses.

You almost get the idea that Cllr Foulkes is looking for some sympathy to the predicament he now finds himself in, being hoist by his own petard. Wasn’t it only a few years ago he was proudly standing up at the Lauries Centre telling the world of his vision for closing half the Borough’s libraries and flogging off its community centres despite the sixty thousand Wirral residents that didn’t want their leisure centres, libraries or community centres sold? What will be cut from Wirral Council’s Budget when Labour announce their 2012/2013 Budget in a few weeks time?

Thankfully his colleagues are now trying to consult with the public over the libraries (a lesson learnt from Sue Charteris was that they should consult first) and parks, beaches and open spaces.

One would almost think there are local elections less than three months away, in which Labour seek to gain majority control of Wirral Council. Yet with £millions to find in Budget savings for 2012/2013 in the next few weeks, all eyes are on the two no confidence motions in Cllr Foulkes’ leadership of the Borough next Monday… will he pull a rabbit out of a hat, or like the proverbial cat with nine lives has he used them all up?