Day: 2 June 2014

Why did Wirral Council keep the list of solicitors firms and barristers it could use between 2010-2014 so secret?

Why did Wirral Council keep the list of solicitors firms and barristers it could use between 2010-2014 so secret?

Why did Wirral Council keep the list of solicitors firms and barristers it could use between 2010-2014 so secret?

                                        

Last year I published on this blog a contract with Wirral Council for external legal services called the North West Legal Consortium Collaboration Agreement, which was a contract Wirral Council had between 1st April 2010 and the 31st March 2014.

I’ve made many requests to Wirral Council since then for the list of solicitors and barristers (which are in appendices to the agreement) only each time I asked I did not receive the lists. This unanswered Freedom of Information Act request of the 16th May 2014 being the latest request. However anticipating Wirral Council would ignore me, I also made a Freedom of Information request to Sefton Borough Council who did give out the information.

So first is the list of firms of solicitors sorted alphabetically that Wirral Council could use during 2010-2014 through the North West Legal Consortium Collaboration Agreement.

Addleshaw Goddard
Anthony Collins
Ashford
Beachcroft
Berrymans Lace Mawer
Bevan Brittan
Brabners Chaffe Street
Cobbetts
Davitt Jones Bould
Devonshires
Dickinson Dees
DLA Piper
DWF
Eversheds
Field Fisher Waterhouse
Forbes
Forshaws Davies Ridgway
Freeth Cartwright
George Davies
Glaisyers
Halliwells
Hammonds
HBJ Gateley Wareing
Hill Dickinson
Mace & Jones
Pannone
Pinsent Masons
Stephensons Solicitors
TPP Law
Weightmans
Whiteheads

Second is the list of firms of barristers chambers sorted alphabetically that Wirral Council could use during 2010-2014 through the collaboration agreement.

2-3 Grays Inn Square
4-5 Grays Inn
5 Essex Court
7 Harrington Street
11 Kings Bench Walk
18 St John Street
39 Essex Street
Arden Chambers
Atlantic Chambers
Cobden House
Deans Court Chambers
Exchange Chambers
Field Court Chambers
Garden Court Chambers
India Buildings
Kings Chambers
Lincoln House Chambers
Old Square Chambers
Oriel Chambers
Ropewalk Chambers
Serle Court
St Ives Chambers
St James Chambers
St Johns Buildings
Young Street Chambers

So why was Wirral Council trying to keep these lists of solicitors and barristers such a secret?

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Public meetings for Wirral Council, Merseytravel and a HoC select committee on how much Chief Officers are paid

Public meetings for Wirral Council, Merseytravel and a HoC select committee on how much Chief Officers are paid

Public meetings for Wirral Council, Merseytravel and a HoC select committee on how much Chief Officers are paid

                                                  

Below is a list of upcoming public meetings & other matters involving local government happening this week. Most are local, but the House of Common’s Communities and Local Government Select Committee on Chief Officer’s pay in local government should be available to watch live on Parliament’s website.
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Date:Monday 2nd June 2014
Time: 7.00pm
Public Body/Committee: Wirral Council
Venue: Floral Pavilion, Marine Promenade, New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside, CH45 2JS

Type of meeting (Annual Meeting of the Council Part 1)
Agenda
1. Declarations of Interest
2. Civic Mayor’s Announcements
3. Election of Civic Mayor 2014/15 (the Cabinet’s recommendation is Cllr Steve Foulkes)
4. Appoint a Deputy Civic Mayor 2014/15 (the Cabinet’s recommendation is Cllr Les Rowlands)
5. Adjournment to 6.15pm on Monday 9th June 2014

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Date: Wednesday 4th June 2014
Time: 2.00pm
Public Body/Committee: Merseytravel Committee of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Venue: Authority Chamber, Merseytravel Offices, No 1. Mann Island, Liverpool, L3 1BP
Agenda & reports
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Minutes of the last meeting
4. High Speed 2 Action Plan June 2014 Update
5. Rail Devolution Update
6. Liverpool City Region: Long Term Rail Strategy

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Date: Wednesday 4th June 2014
Time: 4:15pm
Public Body/Committee: Communities and Local Government Select Committee/House of Commons
Venue: The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Subject: Local Government Chief Officers’ remuneration
Witnesses: Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of Thurrock Council and London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and Maggie Rae, Corporate Director, Wiltshire Council; Mike Cooke, Chief Executive, London Borough of Camden, Councillor Sarah Hayward, Leader, London Borough of Camden, Paul Martin, Chief Executive, London Borough of Wandsworth and Councillor Ravi Govindia, Leader, London Borough of Wandsworth; Martin Tucker, Joint Managing Partner, Gatenby Sanderson and Peter Smith, Director, Hay Group

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Date: Thursday 5th June 2014
Time: 10am
Venue: Birkenhead County Court, 76 Hamilton St, Birkenhead CH41 5EN
Irving -v- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (Fast Track Trial)
Case number: 3YQ53624
*Note sometimes parties reach an out of court settlement before a trial in which case the trial doesn’t go ahead.

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Date: Friday 6th June 2014
Time: 10.00am
Public Body/Committee: Licensing Act 2003 subcommittee of Wirral Council
Agenda and reports
1. Appointment of Chair
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Application for a Premises Licence – Michaels of Moreton
4. Any other business

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Overall election results for Wirral Council elections (2014): Labour majority

Overall election results for Wirral Council elections (2014): Labour majority

Overall election results for Wirral Council elections (2014): Labour majority

                        

My polling card for the 2014 election (Bidston & St. James ward)
My polling card for the 2014 election to Wirral Council (Bidston & St. James ward)

Last month (because of the local and European elections on the same day) this blog received its highest number of monthly visitors (3,918 visitors viewing 7,597 pages) and highest daily visitors (23rd May with 694 visitors and 1,111 page views) since the blog started. The jump in visitors on 23rd May was people interested in what the results were in the local Wirral Council elections.

Although I’ve published results on a ward by ward basis, I haven’t yet published the overall result. These results differ (slightly) from the results on Wirral Council’s website. I will explain why below.

In Greasby, Frankby & Irby ward there was an election for two councillors as the former Conservative Councillor Tony Cox had resigned. The reason for his resignation is that he’d been selected as the Conservative’s candidate in the General Election for Newcastle-under-Lyme and felt that he couldn’t do this to the best of his ability and be a local councillor for Greasby, Frankby & Irby ward. Despite this seat technically being a vacancy Wirral Council include this vacancy in the numbers of Conservative councillors before the election. I’m classing it as a vacancy in the results below.

The other difference is in how you regard Liscard ward. Darren Dodd resigned as a councillor in Liscard in November of last year. Nobody requested a by-election in Liscard, so there was just an election at the end of what would have been the end of his term of office in May 2014. As there has been a vacancy for six months in Liscard before the election I’m surprised that Wirral Council don’t list it as a vacancy in the results. This also means their figure in their election results table for how many Labour councillors there were before the election started is one higher than it was.

Election Results for 2014
Overall: Labour Majority (34 seats are needed for a majority and Labour have 38)

Party (or Independent) Total Votes Council Seats Before Stood Gain Lost Overall Change Council Seats After
Labour 33,983 36 23 3 1 2 38
Conservative 25,792 21 23 1 1 0 21
Liberal Democrat 7,477 6 18 0 0 0 6
Green Party 6,835 0 22 1 0 1 1
Independent 239 1 3 0 1 -1 0
UK Independence 14,793 0 22 0 0 0 0
Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts 91 0 2 0 0 0 0
Vacancy N/A 2 N/A 0 2 -2 0