What do a car crash, road safety, A-boards, Wirral Council and the Merseyside OPCC have in common?

What do a car crash, road safety, A-boards, Wirral Council and the Merseyside OPCC have in common?

Councillor Michael Sullivan (Chair, Wirral Council's Business and Overview Scrutiny Committee at a public meeting held on the 13th September 2016. His microphone is now... on!

What do a car crash, road safety, A-boards, Wirral Council and the Merseyside OPCC have in common?

                                        

Councillor Michael Sullivan (Chair, Wirral Council's Business and Overview Scrutiny Committee) at a public meeting held on the 13th September 2016. His microphone is now... on!
Councillor Michael Sullivan (Chair, Wirral Council’s Business and Overview Scrutiny Committee) at a public meeting held on the 13th September 2016. His microphone is now… on!

Yesterday evening’s meeting of Wirral Council’s Business and Overview Scrutiny Committee was for once quite literally car crash TV.

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Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Wirral Council) 14th September 2016 (Agenda item 4 Road Safety – Reducing Pedestrian Casualties starts at 2m:21s) Part 1 of 5

However, the first main item at the public meeting was about reducing pedestrian casualties and road safety. You can read the reports for this agenda item that are linked to from this page on Wirral Council’s website.

Cllr Warren Ward reminded those present at the start of his declaration of interest by saying,

“Chair, I’ve got a declaration of interest.

In the report it mentions a quote from the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner.

In 2014, I was employed as a private secretary to errm the Police and Crime Commissioner Panel.”

 

I am of course welcome that Cllr Warren Ward brought this up, as Wirral’s criminal justice system caught up with Merseyside’s former Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner on the subject of road safety (although the embarrassing incident below wasn’t mentioned at last night’s meeting). At the time of the offence she was Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.

Cllr Ann O’Byrne (who for the purposes of clarity and avoidance of doubt is a completely different councillor to the current Merseyside Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Cllr Sue Murphy) according to a report in the Liverpool Echo pled guilty at Wirral Magistrates’ Court to two driving offences which were

driving “without due care and attention”

and

failing to stop after a road accident

 

after crashing into an orange BMW Mini. She pled guilty, was fined and had to pay prosecution costs of £565.

Of course there will be many regular readers who will see parallels between this behaviour and that of some politicians.

In the past some councillors have been accused of failing to stop going on after political accidents (such as the library closure programme only halted by a government ordered public inquiry), of generally being politicians behaving “without due care and attention” and also in the process of being more interested in scoring petty party political points and damaging the peoples’ trust in democratic systems in the process.

But then I shouldn’t be too critical as there are plenty of good politicians too that unfortunately get tarred by the same brush by association!

Certainly there is a lot of car crash TV I have filmed at public meetings over the years!

Moving swiftly back to the subject of the current Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy. She was asking questions on Monday afternoon about the effect on jobs of a joint Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service project (involving consultants Deloittes are doing) at an eleven minute public meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (see video of the meeting below). You can read the agenda and reports to do with that on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority’s website.

As this is a committee of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, I had better declare an interest as an Appellant in a First-tier Tribunal case in which Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority are Second Respondent (case reference EA⁄2016⁄0054).

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Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) Monday 12th September 2016

On the subject of legal action, at the meeting of last night’s meeting of Wirral Council’s Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the subject of A-boards and pedestrian safety was raised with respect to a display outside a fruit and vegetable shop in Moreton which was previously covered by this blog in 2012 (including a photo of the shop display in question).

David Rees (a road safety manager at Wirral Council) made it clear at the meeting that Wirral Council hadn’t received any legal claims for compensation from pedestrians arising from A-boards on the footway.

Conservative councillor Gerry Ellis stated that the person who had raised the issue with Wirral Council about the A-board outside a Moreton shop had been threatened with legal action by Wirral Council and asked a senior manager at Wirral Council (the Head of Environment and Regulation Mark Smith) to explain why.

However the Labour Chair of the Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee Councillor Michael Sullivan intervened before Mark Smith had a chance to answer. I will also point out that from my recollection at least one Labour councillor expressed the view at the meeting that Wirral Council employees should not be criticised by Wirral Council councillors.

The Chair decided unilaterally that in his view the report was purely about pedestrian casualties and that as he knew of no recorded accidents known to Wirral Council involving A-boards, Cllr Sullivan told Cllr Ellis that Wirral Council’s Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee wasn’t the forum for discussing such matters and ended any debate on the matter.

Finally, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner have been in touch with me.

During the 30 working day inspection period this year (which finished mid-August 2016) I requested some invoices. However I challenged whether some of the blacked out bits were done properly in accordance with the legislation. Technically not providing the information inside the 30 working day inspection period is unlawful (although it’s a civil law matter).

So I challenged it and around a month later got back three invoices from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside with less redaction.

Can the citizens of Merseyside expect the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside to understand the law? Would that be expecting too much considering these invoices are to their “legal services department”? Or was this a genuine mistake? Or am I too robust in press scrutiny of the local public sector?

As it’s a related topic to the issue of police appeal tribunals I’ll point out that Cllr Mary Rasmussen is proposing at a meeting of Liverpool City Council tonight at the time of writing (14th September 2016 if you’re not reading this on the day it is published) a boycott by vendors and retailers selling the Sun newspaper in Liverpool over its reporting of matters involving the police Hillsborough. The three invoices are for the following:

1) An invoice from Drystone Chambers (based in London) for the services of Mr Gregory Perrins (a barrister) at a Police Appeals Tribunal held on the 4th December 2015 for £1,632.

2) An invoice from Mishcon de Reya (a London-based firm of solicitors) was for £6,000 for supply of legal services in the matter “Royal Mail – VAT Invoices for Postage Services”)

3) An invoice from Slater and Gordon UK LLP for £2,221.92 (a Manchester based firm of solicitors) for professional charges involving criminal defence and disbursements.

 

Each invoice is an A4 page and all 3 invoices involving the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for legal services 2015-2016 financial year are provided here.

I am of course grateful to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for resolving these issues so quickly in a month, rather than the over three years it takes Wirral Council to properly consider the redactions on an information request (request made 29th March 2013, information provided in redacted form 19th May 2016)! In the interests of openness and transparency I had better declare I was Appellant in that case where Wirral Council was Second Respondent.

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Author: John Brace

New media journalist from Birkenhead, England who writes about Wirral Council. Published and promoted by John Brace, 134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH. Printed by UK Webhosting Ltd t/a Tsohost, 113-114 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, England, SL1 4PF.

5 thoughts on “What do a car crash, road safety, A-boards, Wirral Council and the Merseyside OPCC have in common?”

  1. G’day John

    Looking ahead I see that “Legweak” has already sent his apologies for non-attendance at next weeks Fudge It and Risk It Mis-Management Committee.

    His abetting when chief (******) was enormous)

    Does this mean that “The Pretend Friend” the new thicker than the chair Chair of the this very same joke of a committee is going to finally apologise for the five and a half year cover up of the dross and crud around Wirral “Funny” Bizz £2,000,000.00 knock off and Big, ISUS and Working Neighbourhoods.

    Will he get that silly old, senile fool of a tory to apologise for suggesting “Highbrow” should apologise for being a fine upstanding citizen?

    Will the welsh leprechaun cretin publicly apologise to his EX mate “Highbrow” and arrange for him to have afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor’s Chamber?

    Ooroo

    James

    “Tarrantino” the agenda and minutes should read

    MEMBERS’ CODE OF MIS-CONDUCT – DECLARATIONS OF NOT INTERESTED

    not

    MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

    1. Thanks for leaving a comment.

      I have a poem for you in response.

      The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt

      “Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
      “Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
      The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
      And I’ve a many curious things to shew when you are there.”
      “Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
      For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”

      “I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
      Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly.
      “There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
      And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in!”
      “Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
      They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!”

      Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, “Dear friend what can I do,
      To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
      I have within my pantry, good store of all that’s nice;
      I’m sure you’re very welcome — will you please to take a slice?”
      “Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “kind Sir, that cannot be,
      I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!”

      “Sweet creature!” said the Spider, “you’re witty and you’re wise,
      How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
      I’ve a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
      If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”
      “I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you ‘re pleased to say,
      And bidding you good morning now, I’ll call another day.”

      The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
      For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
      So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
      And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
      Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
      “Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
      Your robes are green and purple — there’s a crest upon your head;
      Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”

      Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
      Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
      With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
      Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue —
      Thinking only of her crested head — poor foolish thing! At last,
      Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
      He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
      Within his little parlour — but she ne’er came out again!

      And now dear little children, who may this story read,
      To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed:
      Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
      And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

  2. G’day John

    Back to your poem of the creepy crawlies at wirral later.

    BREAKING
    Ofsted report into child safeguarding failures sends shockwaves through Wirral Council

    John this lot are not fit for any purpose.

    Ooroo

    James

    BRING IN ADMINISTRATION

    1. I’ve read the Wirral Globe version, interestingly no by-line or author, but a more detailed version (but with no link to the report).

      I’ll be generous and state that theirs (plus good quotes) is probably a better read than mine is!

      Seems the good ship Wirral Council has entered choppy waters containing icebergs!!

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