Why did Liverpool City Council release the names of children and their parents in childcare proceedings and a vulnerable adult?
Why did Liverpool City Council release the names of children and their parents in childcare proceedings and a vulnerable adult?
I do not have permission from either the Family Court nor the Court of Protection to publish the names of parties involved in these cases with Liverpool City Council. So those names I have blurred in green.
Yet, in what will not surprise anyone Liverpool City Council’s redactions of these documents during a public inspection meant the names of parents, children and parties was revealed to me. Their staff even let me take away copies.
Before publication I have covered some of these up in green.
Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive in his capacity as Combined Authority Returning Officer states that we are not a media organisation.
Whereas Liverpool City Council may wish to live in a world where they can control the media, there is a point where it can backfire. The press is independent.
Maybe ICO will slap them on the wrist and tell them to improve.
Or maybe this sort of matter is taken seriously?
I don’t know, but tomorrow voters in Wavertree will get to vote whether they want more of the same or a change.
Is the way Liverpool City Council treats the personal information of vulnerable adults and children replicated in their attitude towards how they treat them? With a lack of care?
Liverpool City Council invoice 1Liverpool City Council invoice 2Liverpool City Council invoice 3 redactedLiverpool City Council invoice 4 redactedLiverpool City Council invoice 5 redactedLiverpool City Council invoice 6 redactedLiverpool City Council invoice 7
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What new right does the Local Audit (Public Access to Documents) Act 2017 give to journalists?
What new right does the Local Audit (Public Access to Documents) Act 2017 give to journalists?
Six Pump Court invoice £2400 Liverpool City Council David Hercock thumbnail | Above is a £2,400 invoice to Liverpool City Council from David Hercock of Six Pump Court for a brief on an appeal involving Tharmathevy Thanabalasingam of Kenny Food and Wine. This invoice went to P (which stands for Paul) Merriman. The matter was an appeal of a decision made by councillors. Clicking on the thumbnail will load an easier to read version.
Despite the fact there is a byelection of a councillor for Claughton (as well as the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor) on Thursday another election (the snap general election) has led to this blog post I am writing.
When a general election is called, some legislation goes through the wash-up and gets passed in the last few days of a Parliament before MPs cease to be MPs (just for information Parliament dissolves on the 3rd May 2017).
There are a number that received Royal Asset recently that effect local government, such as the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, Local Audit (Public Access to Documents) Act 2017, Bus Services Act 2017, Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017, Children and Social Work Act 2017 and Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Act 2017.
Since Victorian times there has been a period each year when the public can inspect and make copies of accounting records relating to the previous financial year. Copies can be made by the person doing the inspection (or more usually requested from the public body concerned).
These are connected to rights of local government electors to make objections about whether money is lawfully spent and related matters.
The legislation since Victorian times has given this right to “persons interested” which has been interpreted over the years by the courts as applying to those registered to vote for the area concerned, bodies that pay business rates in that area and those who are representatives of those two classes (such as an accountant acting on behalf of a local government elector).
This means for example I that didn’t previously have a legal right to ask to look at the financial records for Liverpool City Council. In fact back then I asked to do so, you can find some of those invoices here, but when I rather stupidly told them I didn’t live in Liverpool, it all got a bit (and I paraphrase) “these are local council financial records for local people – there’s nothing for wools like you to see here” and they politely told me the rest of my request was refused.
Liverpool City Council for example in this 17-18 financial year have agreed to spend:
Revenue (net base budget): £399.6 million
Capital: £131.6 million
“journalist” is defined as any person who produces for publication journalistic material (whether paid to do so or otherwise).
So it covers those who do for a living such as myself, unpaid bloggers and a wide variety of other people too.
The Act received Royal Assent on the 27th April 2017, so 27th April 2017 plus 2 months means it’ll come into force (although please correct me if I’m a day or two out) 29th June 2017. It applies only to public bodies based in England or Wales.
There are three classes of public bodies (Category 1, Category 2 and Category 2 with exempt status).
Category 1 are those with a yearly expenditure or income of over £6.5 million a year, or smaller bodies that have decided to have a full audit.
Category 2 are the ones with a spend or income of less than £6.5 million a year.
Category 2 with exempt status have to be bodies with income or expenditure of less than £25,000 a year, are not less than 3 years old and with no concerns raised by the auditors (or courts) in the preceding financial year.
When the 30 day period starts and ends is a decision to be made by the public body, but cover specific dates*:-
Category 1 – the first ten working days in June following the end of the financial year Category 2 – the first ten working days in July following the end of the financial year
So this means for journalists, the new legal right (which will come into force near the end of June) will only cover part of the inspection period this year.
Example
30 working day period runs from 1.6.17 to 12.7.17
“persons interested” from 1.6.17 to 12.7.17 “journalists” from 29.6.17 to 12.7.17
It effectively compresses the inspection period for journalists to a fortnight for Category 1 authorities (although it is to be noted the old inspection period used to be only four weeks).
The chief financial officer for category 1 and category 2 authorities are required by law to publish a public notice on their website alerting the public to this 30 working day inspection period before it starts.
Last year, locally both Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority failed to achieve this somewhat basic step within the required timescales.
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Last night Wirral Council’s Licensing Act 2003 Committee met.
Wirral Council started the Wirral Alcohol Inquiry in September 2015 and awarded the tender for this to Shared Future (a Community Interest Company). The question that they were asked to answer was, “What can we all do to make it easier for people to have a healthier relationship with alcohol?”.
The report that came out of talking with twenty Wirral residents made a series of recommendations, the most important one was seen as “Limit the number of licensed premises and make it easier for the public to object to licensing applications. Educate the public that you can have a say on local licensing. Explore how we can make it easier for the public to have their say on local licensing.”
Three of the twenty residents were present at last night’s meeting. However despite receiving legal advice to allow filming to go ahead, despite the law being changed over two years ago, councillors decided to adjourn the whole meeting, ironically to make is harder for the public to have their say on local licensing.
This marks the 4th time since the legislation was changed this has happened and here’s just a brief look back at when Wirral Council has tried this before since the legislation change.
Councillors decided to ban filming of the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee, to avoid future problems the Committee stopped meeting in public and now Wirral Council is subject to government intervention for the way it runs the Children and Young Peoples’ Department.
At the Standards Panel meeting involving a complaint about Cllr Foulkes, the public were prevented from both attending and filming.
So yes, in scenes that remind me of the film Groundhog Day, watch below as councillors would rather adjourn the whole meeting, than have some openness and transparency.
Councillors were repeatedly advised by a solicitor advising the Licensing Act 2003 Committee to allow filming, but some chose to ignore him.
The vote was as follows.
For a filming ban (that they have no power to impose and is in my view unlawful) (7)
Cllr David Burgess-Joyce (Conservative)
Cllr Ron Abbey (Labour)
Cllr Chris Meaden (Labour)
Cllr Paul Stuart (Labour)
Cllr Denise Roberts (Labour)
Cllr George Davies (Labour)
Cllr Michael Sullivan (proposer, Labour))
Against a filming ban (2)
Cllr Bill Davies (Chair, Labour))
Cllr Dave Mitchell (Liberal Democrat)
You can watch below for what happened at the meeting itself. The 5 minute adjournment lasted twenty-six minutes.
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Licensing Act 2003 Committee (Wirral Council) 26th October 2016 Part 1 of 2
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Labour councillor bans filming at public meeting to decide whether to licence a taxi that’s over 10 years old
Labour councillor bans filming at public meeting to decide whether to licence a taxi that’s over 10 years old
Last Thursday there was a public meeting of Wirral Council’s Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee. Part of this meeting considered an item deferred from a Licensing Panel the week before.
Below is a transcript of what happened at the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee meeting on the 25th March 2015. It shows that Wirral Council still thinks it has the power to stop filming at public meetings.
Derek Cummins is a union representative in the UNITE union. Margaret O’Donnell works for Wirral Council.
Councillor Bill Davies gets irate and starts wagging his finger when he’s told he can’t ban filming any more Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee 25th March 2015
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CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): The next item, the last item is… Margaret? Do you want to come forward sir?
CLLR TOM ANDERSON: Is this exempt?
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Are we exempted?
CLLR STEVE NIBLOCK: Can we ask for legal clarification about whether or not this item should be exempt because it might be to do with personal or financial circumstances with regard to this application and I’d prefer that we should consider whether it was exempt?
LEGAL ADVISOR TO COMMITTEE: I think we need to clarify whether or not there’s an objection first from the individual before we determine whether or not a decision needs to be made in that respect.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Are you objecting sir?
TAXI DRIVER: Well, yeah sorry, are you talking about my finance?
DEREK CUMMINS: He didn’t quite understand. Yeah, if it’s possible.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): If you’ll just come forward.
TAXI DRIVER: Sorry.
MARGARET O’DONNELL: Just stay there.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Yeah, just, just keep, yeah sorry, so you don’t, you’re not identified at the present time.
DEREK CUMMINS: Yeah, just to be confident it’s that disagreement on the internet, I don’t want for, for the, could we just sort of err stop filming this side? Well I would suggest it.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: Yes, he said stop filming.
UNKNOWN COUNCILLOR: Stop filming.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: So do it under 12A!
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): You don’t want to be filmed or recorded?
TAXI DRIVER: I’m ok, it’s just err on the finance.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Yeah.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): There’s finance involved?
CLLRS STEVE NIBLOCK AND CLLRS JOHN SALTER: Yeah.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Right you cannot be filmed because finances are going to be involved.
JOHN BRACE: Sorry did he say he was ok with being filmed but we’re going to be excluded anyway?
DEREK CUMMINS: Yeah, he did.
JOHN BRACE: In a bit yeah? That’s fine, but they’ve got to agree the exclusion first.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): I can’t, I can’t hear from up here, would someone, would someone?
MARGARET O’DONNELL: Can I assist? Firstly, err Derek are you representing the applicant?
DEREK CUMMINS: He didn’t come to me at all, it’s just he doesn’t quite understand what the agenda is.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: We’re concerned about you being filmed and disclosing personal information.
DEREK CUMMINS: That goes on the internet.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: That could very well end up on the internet
OTHER COUNCILLOR: Yeah.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: and on Youtube.
DEREK CUMMINS: So you’d rather have that handled?
TAXI DRIVER: No, yeah. Yeah.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: We’re trying to protect your interests so you’re alright.
TAXI DRIVER: Thank you.
DEREK CUMMINS: So there’s a thing called 7A so we’re excluded, everyone’s excluded, except you.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: So would you be happier if we just said no filming?
TAXI DRIVER: Please.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Yes.
TAXI DRIVER: Please.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Yes Chair.
JOHN BRACE: If they’re excluding the public then it doesn’t matter.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Sorry, it’s not an exempt item. The person can stay but they don’t film.
JOHN BRACE: I’m getting confused now. Sorry are you excluding members of the public or not?
CLLR BILL DAVIES (and other councillors): No, no, no, no.
CLLR MICHAEL SULLIVAN: But you can’t film.
JOHN BRACE: But the reason….
CLLR BILL DAVIES: He’s an individual, if he’s got human rights like everybody else. He doesn’t want to be filmed, he doesn’t want to be filmed.
JOHN BRACE: I was just going to point out that although we had this discussion a lot longer at Standards
CLLR DAVID ELDERTON: Please take it down and take it out.
JOHN BRACE: Sorry can I finish what I’m saying? Err, I thought you were about to say you were going to exclude the members of the press and public and he was going to stay and you were just going to decide that, but now you’re saying you’re going to decide, if you’re going to decide this when the press and public are going to be here then the regulations say that any bit of the meeting that’s public can be filmed but obviously if we were excluded then we can’t film it.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Well the gentleman there does not want to be filmed.
JOHN BRACE: Yeah but I can film the other side of the room?
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): That’s what he’s saying. I think that’s quite clear! Some of us don’t want to be filmed. At the end of the day, if it ends up on the internet or Youtube this committee and the officers and something goes wrong will be responsible. It won’t be you, it will be us and this man has said, do you want that recorded. Do you want to be filmed or recorded?
TAXI DRIVER: No.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): That’s fine. You can stay but you don’t film or record. I have made it quite clear because the gentleman, if the gentleman wants to be filmed, no problem. He doesn’t.
JOHN BRACE: OK.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): OK.
CLLR DAVID ELDERTON: It is the Chair’s discretion.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Yep. OK.
CLLR JOHN SALTER: Will you switch it off?
JOHN BRACE: At the Standards Committee it was said if you’re going make a decision that filming is not allowed, then you record that in the minutes with the reasons.
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): Yeah, I will do that.
JOHN BRACE: OK, could you give..
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): but we’re not at the Standards Committee, we’re at the Licensing Committee.
JOHN BRACE: Yeah, I know, but just
CLLR BILL DAVIES (Chair): but you must realise that there’s certain times when individuals have private, personal or financial and they do not want their business spread elsewhere.
JOHN BRACE: I’ll just say I’d like that recorded in the minutes and if that’s the case then I’ll stop filming because I want to challenge that anyway under the regulations so that’s my position.
Once the camera was switched off and the lens cover was shut, councillors went back on what they’d said and excluded the press and public from the rest of the meeting anyway!
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Councillor John Salter “when you make a decision you’ve got to do it behind locked doors”
Councillor John Salter “when you make a decision you’ve got to do it behind locked doors”
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This transcript below starts at about 14:38 in the video above. Apologies for any poor sound quality in the video, but microphones weren’t provided to the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee that evening.
SURJIT TOUR
One example is the issue about filming, the regulations around filming, blogging, tweeting has now become operative and will be operative by the end of this month. So that’s expected there are a number of areas where we need to ensure the constitution reflects some of those changes which are reported… so those are the key areas I’ve suggested which obviously you can add if you confirm areas of work which you feel are necessary around the committee’s remit.
COUNCILLOR LES ROWLANDS
I just have a comment. Over the years I’ve noticed that there’s been less and less public coming in to see our Councils and so forth. This has a bearing on culture as well because when you’ve got members of the public there observing the Council meeting then you know bode for somebody to start shouting all kinds of obscenities across the Chamber. So I think the level of etiquette when I first started as a councillor here was much, much higher than it is today. I think in my own mind that’s part of it because the public was involved.
Is there any way that we can err whether it’s publicising, I realise we can’t drag them in off the street but is there any way that we can work on a project where we can actually start to try and engage in meetings. I mean it’s a great start by having independents but you know participation in the Council Chamber itself ie bringing the public in to view what we’re doing. I just think it’s really sad that that has dropped off and we seem to have lost this connection with our public. We do have our own constituencies but they don’t seem to know what goes on in this Council.
COUNCILLOR MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN
One of the things that came out very strongly in terms of the survey that I’m going to talk about was for Members, as I said open and accountable to backbench Members errm was that one of the ways full Council operates, notwithstanding that and I suppose we’re all guilty at some time or another of that behaviour, absolutely I put my hands up to that, but all of us felt that actually that the way full Council behaves and the idea of a that first one was just to re establish things like standing up when the Mayor comes in, those sort of things that have fallen by the way.
… not being the Chair as I need to be, he or she has that, it’s that kind of very errm basic respect really for first of all for the authority of the Chair or the Mayor, Mayor as Chair and then each other and it’s a culture but if we put our minds to work on that basis, then possibly we wouldn’t be subject to criticism as well, but certainly we wouldn’t be embarrassed to see that happening but it’s a chicken and egg isn’t it?
COUNCILLOR ROB GREGSON
The other Les, I think the timing of what you’ve just said is perfect as well, because in the Mayor’s speech he did say about it, the role of councillors and you know you should revisit how we market ourselves, how we get together and go out. Errm, I think I’ve said about it but I’ll just finish with students, full-time students and you know I was at university talking to many of the younger students who were studying politics and they weren’t even aware that you could just walk in to public meetings and I’m talking about Liverpool, you know we met outside and they drew me on what do you mean, the back cleared area at public meetings, they weren’t aware of the public gallery and obviously that could be an area we could easily promote.
COUNCILLOR BILL DAVIES (CHAIR)
I think that’s a good idea, I mean we could go to colleges and also … I’ve seen colleges go into art galleries and some I’ve seen them … why can’t they come into the Town Hall?
COUNCILLOR BRUCE BERRY
Yes, a bit more on the second point in relation to all that. While I was canvassing, errm I did go up and people were asking me if I could give if some, how many of the meetings weren’t open to the public? People do want to get involved and it’s a case of publicising it, it’s easily done in the press and people do want to attend, I’m sure we’ve even thought about that.
COUNCILLOR BILL DAVIES (CHAIR)
There’s a flip side to that, people might come along and see all the members seated in the House of Commons, Councillor Salter.
COUNCILLOR JOHN SALTER
Yeah, I mean the biggest attendance of anyone from outside is either at licensing or planning and that’s when and I’ve been on both. I’ve been where on planning where we’ve got these two rooms open and absolutely chock a block and Committee Room 1, so you know it’s only when there’s something happening really that they want to come along to, otherwise like anything it’s apathy, they’ll go ahead and do it anyway and that’s the attitude, we don’t.
You know we sit down and we do this planning and on licensing and we have one of the biggest arguments going, behind locked doors, when you make a decision you’ve got to do it behind locked doors to give you a sufficient chance to discuss.
COUNCILLOR BILL DAVIES (CHAIR)
I think as well as I remember, when I came on the Council it was electric the atmosphere it was. Errm, it was almost intimidating really and … the Council things have changed, I mean sometimes I think remarks like we’re watching paint dry and that’s true because things have changed, there’s not a lot of debate going on and if you think about by the time they have question time, then question the Cabinet and so on and before that we … have notices of motion, so things have changed now since I’ve come on.
COUNCILLOR PATRICIA WILLIAMS
If the general public know that the Cabinet is going to make a particular decision, they will turn up and they will make an issue about it and they will make representations about that.
They will also at full Council, if Cabinet have made a decision which they disagree with, you wait and see what happens about Lyndale, other people have clearly came and they speak very strongly about it and there have been times, I’ve been a councillor since 1987, so there’ve been a lot of things happening during that time, but I’ve had to fight my way in to this Town Hall on numerous occasions over these years but I believe now the committee system that we have, with the Cabinet and the scrutiny split and people think it’s a waste of time turning up and once Cabinet have made a decision it is very, very unusual for that to be changed.
So people think ‘what’s the point?’ and once they, once they’ve been here and they’ve been up in the public gallery, when their particular issue of concern has been dealt with. It’s, it’s, they’ve got to really want to be here because it’s not so easy to hear from the public gallery especially when councillors are shouting at each other and being you know disrespectful, so I think you know, we councillors have got a big responsibility to treat each other with respect and also then in mind if members of the public are here we should behave ourselves to allow people to listen, speak clearly and make sure they are welcomed into the Town Hall and you know they’re able to be here, it’s a privilege to be here but it’s also their right you know so we’ve got to make it welcoming and positively encourage people to come in.
Of course the Youth Parliament is a good way to encourage young people isn’t it to know about Council about how they can turn up at any time you know to witness what goes on. So I think a lot of it is in our hands to do something about.
COUNCILLOR BILL DAVIES (CHAIR)
Well, people, well that’s goes for our Labour Party and the party over there, we don’t do business shouting and screaming at each other especially at Council meetings and that’s the way it is. I think all sides of the Council, all parties agree on that.
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