Month: February 2014

Extra £7 million announced by government in funding for councils to help with flood costs: Will Wirral apply?

Extra £7 million announced by government in funding for councils to help with flood costs: Will Wirral apply?

Extra £7 million announced by government in funding for councils to help with flood costs: Will Wirral apply?

                      

At a recent Cabinet meeting I heard Cllr Phil Davies talking about how some (£250,000) of the projected underspend for this year’s Budget was set aside to pay for the clean up and repairs to infrastructure after the floods in December. He said that although there was a government fund that local councils could apply to for emergency financial help following such events (called the Bellwin scheme), Wirral Council didn’t qualify as it hadn’t spent more than 0.2% of its annual budget which for Wirral is £930,432.

However the government has since announced a further £7 million of funding to councils for this kind of expenditure in what they call a severe weather recovery scheme. Half of it is for repairing roads damaged by flooding and the other half for expenditure incurred through supporting communities.

Applications for this money have to be made by February 19th February at 5pm and ministers have stated that all local authorities in England who apply and are eligible will receive the money. To qualify for the community element of the grant Wirral Council will need to show that “at least ten residential and/or commercial properties had been reported as flooded (water having entered the property)” in Wirral and that Wirral Council had “incurred expenditure on supporting their communities during the recovery phase”.

To qualify for the highways element Wirral Council would have to prove that the floods caused damage to parts of the highway of more than one and a half metres that they were responsible for. Whether Wirral Council qualify for this element I’m not sure. However as some of their expenditure on the community element side would seem to be eligible, here’s a link to the application form. After all if Wirral Council is entitled to the money why don’t they apply for it?

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When is a call in meeting not a call in meeting? When it’s adjourned…

When is a call in meeting not a call in meeting? When it’s adjourned…

When is a call in meeting not a call in meeting? When it’s adjourned…

                        

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Cllr Steve Foulkes (Vice-Chair): Can I just explain Stuart Whittingham’s not available tonight, so as Vice-Chair of the Committee I will take over that role. There are a number of substitutions, Denise Realey’s here for Stuart, Wendy you’re here for Steve Williams I believe and John Salter is here for Ron Abbey. That makes up the full complement of the committee.

I mean clearly, clearly is this mike too loud because I’m conscious, getting on people’s nerves.

I’m conscious that this is rather an unusual meeting.

Cllr Moira McLaughlin: That’s near enough I suppose.

Cllr Steve Foulkes (Vice-Chair): In as much as there has been some issues in and around the constitution of the committee and our legal obligations to do things correctly. It would appear, ok let me do first things first, any apologies for absence I think I’ve covered those. Code of Conduct Declarations of Interest, are Members declare that there’s no whip? Is that very important and declarations of interest that’s agreed and apologies?

So going back backtracking we’ve found ourselves in a situation where I think in the reorganisation of our constitution, for all good intents and purposes, we have tried to streamline the call in procedure by all agreeing during the set up of the constitution, I don’t think it was objected to that the Coordinating Committee would be the call in committee effectively to deal with all the call ins.

However we seemed to have overlooked those issues where there are educational matters that we may be required to have extra representation given the nature of the debate and obviously in and around education policy we would welcome I think expert and independent observers and those people with voting rights.

So if someone had approached the Committee prior to these call ins raising the issue, I think we would have probably said right it would be a good idea for these representatives in attending the committee meeting, so in a roundabout way I think we’re doing people who are here about the call in a better service than we otherwise would have done so.

However the complications of running a Council and constitutions, means we haven’t got the ability to simply co-opt but that’s not clearly the way the constitution was written, it would have to go to full Council. So it will be a full written proposal where I intend to adjourn this meeting and move to the new date which will be well publicised and advertised.

In the in between stage of that we’d be reliant on full Council to be able to move the necessary constitutional amendment where we will be able to take on board the representation, particularly those who are parent governors and the representatives of the two dioceses. There is a resolution so I think it might be fair to all elected Members to distribute that.

First, the other thing I want to say on behalf of the Authority. We’ve never said this Authority won’t make mistakes or won’t get things wrong. I think it’s how we react to them and how we deal with them is the measure of whether the organisation is better or not. I’ve been greatly enthused by the way that scrutiny has run this year, it’s my first time on scrutiny and I think that…

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Councillors agree to adjourn Lyndale School call in meeting

Councillors agree to adjourn Lyndale School call in meeting

Councillors agree to adjourn Lyndale School call in meeting

  

The following recommendation proposed by Cllr Steve Foulkes and seconded by Cllr Patricia Glasman was agreed unanimously by those on Wirral Council’s Coordinating Committee who were Cllr Steve Foulkes (Vice-Chair, Labour), Cllr John Salter (Labour), Cllr Jean Stapleton (Labour), Cllr Moira McLaughlin (Labour), Cllr Denise Realey (Labour), Cllr Patricia Glasman (Labour), Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour), Cllr Bernie Mooney (Labour), Cllr Denise Roberts (Labour), Cllr Leah Fraser (Conservative), Cllr Adam Sykes (Conservative), Cllr David Elderton (Conservative), Cllr Wendy Clements (Conservative), Cllr Andrew Hodson (Conservative) and Cllr Alan Brighouse (Liberal Democrats).

The same councillors will make up the Coordinating Committee meeting to consider the Lyndale School call in on the 27th February (plus the co-optees with voting rights referred to in the recommendation below).

RECOMMENDATION

Council at its Annual Meeting on 20 May 2013, appointed two Parent Governor Representatives and Diocesan Representatives (as statutory co-optees) to Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee. The Committee is responsible for the scrutiny of education matters and the statutory co-optees are entitled to participate and vote pn such matters.

However, the Council’s Constitution provides that the Policy and Performance Co-ordinating Committee be responsible for dealing with all call-ins. As both call-ins in question relate to education matters, it is appropriate that the statutory co-optees referred to above are afforded the opportunity to participate and vote in respect of both call-ins.

Following the Cabinet meeting on 16 January 2014, the following two decisions have been called in and must be considered by the Policy and Performance Co-ordinating Committee.

  • Cabinet Minute No. 129 – Report Seeking Approval to consult on the Closure of the Lyndale School; and
  • Cabinet Minute No. 140 – Proposals for Changes to School Top Up Payments for Students with High Needs

Given that both call-ins relate to educational matters, it is not possible to consider either call-in until the Parent Governor and Diocesan Representatives have been co-opted onto this Committee

It is therefore recommended that:
(1) the Committee notes the two call in notices received;

(2) the meeting be adjourned until 6pm on Thursday, 27 February 2014;

(3) it is recommended that the Council extends the Membership of the Policy and Performance Co-ordinating Committee to include:
(a) Two Parent Governor Representatives; and
(b) A representative of each of the appropriate Diocesan Authorities;
With voting rights, for the purpose of dealing with educational matters

(4) in order to meet legal requirements when considering educational matters the Council be recommended to co-opt onto the Policy and Performance Committee:
(a) the following two Parent Governor Representatives, elected to sit on the Council’s scrutiny committees that deal with education (with voting rights, in respect of educational matters only)

  • Mrs H Shoebridge (until 28 October 2015); and
  • Mrs Nicola Smith (until 8 February 2017)

and

(b) the following two Diocesan Authority representatives (with voting right in respect of educational matters only)

  • Damien Cunningham (representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury); and
  • A representative of the Church of England Diocese of Chester (currently a nomination has not yet been made).

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Wirral Labour’s 2% Council Tax Rise branded “excessive” by Pickles

Wirral Labour’s 2% Council Tax Rise branded “excessive” by Pickles

Wirral Labour’s 2% Council Tax Rise branded “excessive” by Pickles

                       

The Labour run Wirral Council have previously stated in public that they will not set a budget for 2014/15 that includes a Council Tax rise that would trigger a referendum. Published today the government has set the threshold that triggers a Council Tax referendum at 2%.

Labour’s budget for Wirral Council currently assumes a 2% Council Tax rise, therefore for Labour to avoid a Council Tax referendum it will have to be altered to result in a Council Tax rise below 2% at the next Cabinet meeting to consider the 2014/15 budget. Options presented to the next Cabinet meeting are for a 2% Council Tax rise (now seen as unlikely considering that the Labour administration has stated they wish to avoid a referendum), a 1.5% rise or a 1% rise. Choosing the last option would mean that Wirral Council qualifies for a Council Tax Freeze Grant from government covering the cost of a 1% increase which would effectively freeze Council Tax at last year’s level.

The Rt Hon Mr Pickles MP has encouraged people to go to Twitter and use the hashtag #freezeplease to express their views to their local Council on Council Tax rises. He said, “Council Tax bills more than doubled, pushing the typical bill to a £120 a month from hard-working people and pensioners. Council Tax became a big worry for those trying to balance family budgets. This government has been working to give families greater financial security, taking action to keep Council Tax down.

We have given extra funding to town halls to help freeze Council Tax and handed local residents new rights to veto big local tax hikes, so local people have the final say on the amount they pay.

Since 2010, Council Tax bills have been cut by 10% in real terms across England and people haven’t been facing the threat of soaring bills. I would urge councils to take up the offer of additional funding to help freeze Council Tax this year to help their residents with the cost of living.”

It seems highly unlikely that Wirral Council will accept Pickle’s offer of a Council Tax Freeze Grant (although Cllr Phil Davies has now said he’ll consider it if it forms part of the base budget), or now go for their preferred option of a 2% rise as setting an increase this high would now trigger a Council Tax Referendum on the same date at the combined local and European elections (22nd May 2014).

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New law to make it mandatory to record individual councillor’s votes (by name) at Wirral Council’s Budget Council

New law to make it mandatory to record individual councillor’s votes (by name) at Wirral Council’s Budget Council

New law to make it mandatory to record individual councillor’s votes (by name) at Wirral Council’s Budget Council

                    

Coming into force on the 25th February 2014 (the day Wirral Council decides on its budget), the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 will mean that the votes of each individual councillor on the budget (and amendments) will be recorded by name in the minutes of the meeting. This will include any councillor who votes for, against or abstains.

The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP said in a written statement “Over the coming weeks, councils will be holding their annual budget meetings at which they will formally take decisions about their expenditure on local services and their council tax levels for the year ahead. These discussions will affect the lives and household budgets of all who live in the council’s area.

Local people should be able to see how those they have elected to represent them have voted on these critical decisions. However, such decisions could be clearer.

A survey by Conservative Way Forward in August 2013, based on Freedom of Information Act requests to 340 councils, found that 78% of councils could not or would not say how councillors had voted on setting that year’s council tax. Three-quarters of councils which chose not to freeze council tax had not recorded their votes.

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 will lay the way for greater reporting of council meetings using digital and social media. To complement this, we believe that local accountability would be further enhanced by asking all councils to publish, as a matter of record, how each councillor votes on any budget decisions including council tax changes. Indeed, recorded votes are the norm for parliamentarians.

Accordingly, we have written to every council leader making clear our expectation that this year all councils will adopt at their budget meeting the practice of recording in the minutes of the meeting how each member has voted on the budget and amendments to the budget.

To facilitate this, we laid before Parliament the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 which make provision requiring councils to amend their Standing Orders (it is open to councils to waive them before they can be permanently amended) so as to make mandatory the practice of recorded votes at budget meetings.

This small but practical reform increases council transparency and accountability over council tax, and highlights the work that councillors do in championing their communities and representing local electors.

It is the latest step in a series of measures the coalition Government have taken to help address the cost of living for hard-working people. This Government have announced a further two years of council tax freeze funding, on top of the average 10% cut in council tax in real terms that this Government have helped deliver since May 2010.

We will be also publishing shortly the final local government finance settlement and the council tax referendum threshold for 2014-15. ”

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