Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) case involving information request to Wirral Council by Martin Morton listed for public hearing on Thursday 26th April 2018

Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) case involving information request to Wirral Council by Martin Morton listed for public hearing on Thursday 26th April 2018

Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) case involving information request to Wirral Council by Martin Morton listed for public hearing on Thursday 26th April 2018

Liverpool Civil & Family Court, Vernon Street, Liverpool, L2 2BX (where the hearing for First-Tier Tribunal case EA/2017/0108 would have been held) which was cancelled and transferred to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
Liverpool Civil & Family Court, Vernon Street, Liverpool, L2 2BX (where the hearing for First-Tier Tribunal case EA/2017/0108 would have been held) which was cancelled and transferred to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)

On the 26th April 2018 next week starting at 10.30 am is a public hearing in Upper Tribunal case GIA/3037/2017.

This involves a Freedom of Information request made to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by Anthony Martin Morton on the 5th August 2016.

This was refused twice by Wirral Council and then this refusal was appealed to the regulator the Information Commissioner.
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Cllr Louise Reecejones criticised for failing to formally apologise for how she treated whistleblowers

Cllr Louise Reecejones criticised for failing to formally apologise for how she treated whistleblowers

Cllr Louise Reecejones criticised for failing to formally apologise for how she treated whistleblowers

                                                      

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Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (Wirral Council) 31st October 2017 Part 1 of 2
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Who’s leaving Wirral Council and what is a 20,085 signature petition against?

Who’s leaving Wirral Council and what is a 20,085 signature petition against?

Who’s leaving Wirral Council and what is a 20,085 signature petition against?

                                      

Mayor Cllr Ann McLachlan , Council (Wirral Council) 10th July 2017
Mayor Cllr Ann McLachlan , Council (Wirral Council) 10th July 2017

Yesterday’s email from Mr Tour, ended with “you are required to return to the public gallery”.

However when I did return to the entrance to the public gallery above the Council Chamber, after asking my question, Wirral Council’s Community Patrol unsuccessfully tried to stop me re-entering.

I have however sadly learnt in life to ignore a lot of Wirral Council employee’s more bizarre requests and slipped past him. The guy from Community Patrol tried to grab my arm to stop me but lost his grip.

Ironically as I had had a stand up protest downstairs over the nonsense over the seating arrangements, typing away notes on my iPad, in the hot weather my bare arm was so sweaty by then that his hand couldn’t grip on to me.

So I thank Surjit Tour for putting into place a chain of events that thwarted another Wirral Council employee.

As I’d forgotten to turn my tape recorder off downstairs there’s a tape of the whole matter and conversation.

Maybe Community Patrol will have better luck at the next Planning Committee?

Indeed Wirral Council losing its grip seemed to be a running theme of the evening.

The petition against the planning application for a fire station (on Council owned land) in Saughall Massie presented by Cllr Chris Blakeley has reached 4,034 signatures. The report from Wirral Council’s planning department recommends it for approval. The matter will be decided at the Planning Committee on the 20th July 2017, after a site visit on the 18th July 2017.

Another large petition, of a mere 20,805 signatures, submitted by Cllr Chris Blakeley on behalf of Cllr Jeff Green opposed the introduction of car parking charges in the country parks (which goes to a call-in meeting on the 18th July 2017).

Cllr Phil Davies (Leader) and the Labour councillors however does not agree with Cllr Chris Blakeley on many policy matters.

After questions for Cabinet Members from various councillors, there were general questions, followed by just over half an hour of debate about senior managers’ employment status.

A quick summary is Julia Hassall (Director of Children’s Services) resigned, Tom Sault (Assistant Director: Finance) is entering a “phased retirement”, Surjit Tour (Assistant Director: Law and Governance, Monitoring Officer and Senior Information Risk Officer) has resigned and Clare Fish (Executive Director for Strategy) has requested early retirement.

The Chief Executive, Eric Robinson also wants to regrade the Director for Children post to the £140-£155k band and create a new post for a senior manager (Director of Strategy and Partnerships) on a salary range of £103k-£115k. He also wants to increase the salary range for the Assistant Director: Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer post to a maximum of £93k. Those are most of the changes (there are some other ones too).

The changes to the senior management team that were recommended in a private meeting of the Employment and Appointments Committee were agreed by Council yesterday evening on a 35:25:1 vote (for:against:abstain). The 1 is the Labour councillor who is the Mayor abstaining. The other 35 are Labour councillors and the 25 were a combination of opposition councillors.

The effect is that Surjit Tour remains serving out his notice (until some point in September 2017), Clare Fish’s early retirement request is agreed, Tom Sault retires (but phased) and Penna (the external recruitment consultants) have a massive pay-day from advising Wirral Council on recruitment to all these posts (estimated by one councillor at ~£12k a post).

The senior management team was restructured last in November 2016 and at least one councillor suggested that changing again so soon implies that the previous model hadn’t worked.

Cllr Bernie Mooney referred to people being paid, “too bloody much”.

Certainly the senior management team hasn’t been changed this much since 2012, when a large number of them were suspended, then paid large sums to leave as the suspension wasn’t done properly.

There was also a short debate on wildlife sites.

Most people however were there in the public gallery (patiently waiting around two hours before the meeting got to that point) to hear debate on a Notice of Motion about the New Ferry explosion.

Cllr Warren Ward received cross-party plaudits for his work as a ward councillor for this area.

Labour councillors blamed it on the government.

Conservative councillors said that part of the response was the responsibility of Wirral Council.

In the end though, after just over 30 minutes of debate, councillors of all parties agreed a notice of motion that will result in Wirral Council writing a letter to the Prime Minister and a letter to the government minister for Communities and Local Government.

After that agreement, the Mayor called for a ten minute adjournment (which turned into a fifteen minute adjournment).

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Why does Wirral Council want to control where people sit?

Why does Wirral Council want to control where people sit?

Why does Wirral Council want to control where people sit?

                                                  

Surjit Tour (Monitoring Officer (Wirral Council)) at the Coordinating Committee held on 15th June 2016
Surjit Tour (Monitoring Officer (Wirral Council)) at the Coordinating Committee held on 15th June 2016

Below is an email from Surjit Tour to myself today about the seating arrangements for tonight’s Council meeting. Seems Wirral Council likes playing the “Let’s pretend John isn’t the press games” again! See if you can guess what my reply was!

From: Tour, Surjit <surjittour@wirral.gov.uk>
to: “john.brace@gmail.com” <john.brace@gmail.com>
cc: Mayor <mayor@wirral.gov.uk>,
“Stuart, Paul C. (Councillor)” <paulstuart@wirral.gov.uk>,
“McLaughlin, Moira (Councillor)” <moiramclaughlin@wirral.gov.uk>,
“Mossop, Andrew R.” <andrewmossop@wirral.gov.uk>
date: 10 July 2017 at 14:30
subject: RE: Question at Council
mailed-by: wirral.gov.uk
security: wirral.gov.uk did not encrypt this message Learn more

Dear Mr Brace

Thank you for your email.

With all due respect, it is not for you to determine where you sit in the Council Chamber.

I have noted your comments and I have asked Committee Services Officers to ensure that the seats around the outer area of the Member seating is kept free from any obstruction. You will be allocated one of those seats and not one at the Press table. Once Agenda Item 5 – Public Questions has been dealt with you are required to return to the public gallery.

I trust this clarifies matters.

Regards

Surjit Tour
Assistant Director: Law and Governance
and Monitoring Officer

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Business Services
Law and Governance
Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
Wirral
CH44 8ED

Tel: 0151 691 8569
Fax: 0151 691 8482

Visit our website: www.wirral.gov.uk

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Councillors vote 2:1 to hold meeting about complaint about Cllr Reecejones in private

Councillors vote 2:1 to hold meeting about complaint about Cllr Reecejones in private

Councillors vote 2:1 to hold meeting about complaint about Cllr Reecejones in private

                                      

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Standards Panel (Wirral Council) 15th June 2017

Standards Panel (Wirral Council) 15th June 2017 L to R Cllr Reecejones, Shirley Hudspeth and Surjit Tour
Standards Panel (Wirral Council) 15th June 2017 L to R Cllr Reecejones, Shirley Hudspeth and Surjit Tour

After the bizarre scenes last year at a public meeting of the Standards Panel where the press were barred from the meeting there was another meeting of Wirral Council’s Standards Panel yesterday.
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