Why is Wirral Council putting on agendas that chairs of public meetings can “halt any recording?”

Why is Wirral Council putting on agendas that chairs of public meetings can “halt any recording?”

Why is Wirral Council putting on agendas that chairs of public meetings can “halt any recording?”

                                   

Birkenhead Constituency Committee (27th September 2018) L to R Cllr George Davies, Jo Burrell and David Kenneth Abraham
Birkenhead Constituency Committee (27th September 2018) L to R Cllr George Davies, Jo Burrell and David Kenneth Abraham

Earlier this month I wrote a story about what happened when I tried to film a public meeting of the Birkenhead Constituency Committee headlined Why does Wirral Council believe it can direct how filming of its public meetings are done (when not filmed by themselves)?
Continue reading “Why is Wirral Council putting on agendas that chairs of public meetings can “halt any recording?””

Wirral Council’s Cabinet expected to recommend 5.99% council tax rise for 2018-19

Wirral Council’s Cabinet expected to recommend 5.99% council tax rise for 2018-19

Wirral Council’s Cabinet expected to recommend 5.99% council tax rise for 2018-19

                                          

Cabinet (Wirral Council) 18th December 2017 L to R Cllr Bernie Mooney Cllr Angela Davies Cllr Chris Jones Cllr Phillip Brightmore
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 18th December 2017 Left to Right Cllr Bernie Mooney, Cllr Angela Davies, Cllr Chris Jones and Cllr Phillip Brightmore

The author’s wife has a liability for council tax for 2018-19 for a property on the Wirral, so I declare that as a financial interest in the below piece.

I would like to also thank the Bureau of Investigative Journalists (BIJ) for their help in the area of council budgets and this piece.
Continue reading “Wirral Council’s Cabinet expected to recommend 5.99% council tax rise for 2018-19”

Conservative and Lib Dem councillors granted special meeting to debate car parking charges

Conservative and Lib Dem councillors granted special meeting to debate car parking charges

Conservative and Lib Dem councillors granted special meeting to debate car parking charges

                                        

Cllr Phil Davies is being asked to U-turn on car park charges proposals
Cllr Phil Davies is being asked to U-turn on car park charges proposals

Despite the partial U-turn on car parking charges by Wirral’s Cabinet previously reported on this blog, after campaigns by Conservative and Lib Dem councillors on Wirral Council, the Mayor has granted a request for a special meeting to debate the increase in proposed charges at existing car parks and the introduction of car parking charges at various country parks.

The extraordinary meeting of Wirral Council will be held on the 6th March 2017 starting at 5.30 pm in the Council Chamber at Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe, CH44 8ED.

A notice of motion to that meeting (proposed by Conservative councillors), which can be read in full on Wirral Council’s website asks for the following:

“Council therefore requests the Leader of the Council to:

(a) withdraw his proposal of a 20p increase on all existing car parking tariffs

and

(b) withdraw his plan to introduce car parking charges at Wirral’s parks in their entirety”

If you click on any of the buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people.

21 Conservative councillors request public meeting to discuss halting Girtrell Court closure plans

21 Conservative councillors request public meeting to discuss halting Girtrell Court closure plans

21 Conservative councillors request public meeting to discuss halting Girtrell Court closure plans

                                           

Bernard Halley (left) talking about Girtrell Court at the Wirral West Constituency Committee 11th February 2016 L to R (foreground) Bernard Halley, David L to R (background) Graham Hodkinson, Cllr Matthew Patrick
Bernard Halley (left) talking about Girtrell Court at the Wirral West Constituency Committee 11th February 2016 L to R (foreground) Bernard Halley, David L to R (background) Graham Hodkinson, Cllr Matthew Patrick

21 Conservative councillors have requested a special meeting of Wirral Council councillors to discuss the future of Girtrell Court. Based on promises that the replacement service would be “equal to, or better than” Girtrell Court, the councillors point out that the twenty bed service at Girtrell Court is being replaced by a ten bed unit.

Therefore they do not believe that replacing a twenty bed service with a ten bed service is “equal to, or better than” Girtrell Court and call upon the Council to reverse its decision to close Girtrell Court.

The public meeting to discuss the future of Girtrell Court is expected to take place on the evening of the 14th November 2016 in the Council Chamber at Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe, CH44 8ED. It will start at either 6.15 pm or when the previous meeting to discuss the future of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority finishes.



Updated 16/11/2016 You can watch what happened at that Extraordinary meeting of Wirral Council held on the 14th November 2016 to discuss Girtrell Court below.

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Extraordinary Meeting, Council (Wirral Council) Girtrell Court 14th November 2016 Part 1 of 2

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Extraordinary Meeting, Council (Wirral Council) Girtrell Court 14th November 2016 Part 2 of 2

If you click on any of the buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people.

What did the Mayor of Wirral put in his letter to councillors asking them to behave better?

What did the Mayor of Wirral put in his letter to councillors asking them to behave better?

What did the Mayor of Wirral put in his letter to councillors asking them to behave better?

                                          

BeeQuiet and Beehave from Stoppit and Tidy Up
BeeQuiet and Beehave from Stoppit and Tidy Up

When I was younger there was a cartoon called Stoppit and Tidy Up (yes I realise I’m showing my age) narrated by the late Terry Wogan.

In it were two characters called BeeQuiet and BeeHave (hence the picture above).

Prior to last night’s Council meeting, a copy of a letter from the Mayor was put on all 66 councillors’ desks, then orders from above meant the copies were gathered back in again, only to be handed out again later.

At the actual meeting itself Labour councillors voted to reduce the scrutiny function at Wirral Council and reduce the number of scrutiny committees from four to three. This was opposed by the Green councillor, Lib Dem councillors and Conservative councillors.

However the letter from the Mayor to councillors is a "BeeQuiet and BeeHave" letter.

There were also speeches from each of the three party leaders about the EU Referendum.

Video of the first part of the Council meeting is included below the letter, I will add the second part once it has uploaded.

letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 1 of 2
letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 1 of 2
letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 2 of 2
letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 2 of 2

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Council (Wirral Council) 27th June 2016 EU Referendum and changes to scrutiny Part 1 of 2

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Council (Wirral Council) 27th June 2016 changes to scrutiny Part 2 of 2

If you click on any of the buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people.