Month: October 2014

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel meets for 1st public meeting

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel meets for 1st public meeting

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel meets for 1st public meeting

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 29th October 2014 Mann Island, Liverpool
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 29th October 2014 Mann Island, Liverpool

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (created earlier this year) now has a scrutiny panel called the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel.

As regular readers of this blog will know, Knowsley provides the administrative support for meetings of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and its calendar of meeting can be viewed on Knowsley’s website, Merseytravel (now part of the Combined Authority) sorts out its own meetings and has its own calendar of public meetings on its own website and now the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel is administered by Halton Council and you can view their calendar of its meeting here.

From a media perspective, the same public body having three different calendars for its meetings is somewhat unusual but there you go.

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Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 29th October 2014 Part 1

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Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 29th October 2014 Part 2

The meeting itself only lasted 24 and a half minutes (the meeting took longer than it should have due to a fire alarm test). The agenda was short so I’ll reprint it here with links to the eight reports:

1. Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair
2. Appointment of Members to the Combined Authority’s Audit Committee

Additional documents:
Part 4 Section B Audit Committee, item 2

3. Role and Responsibility of the Combined Authority
4. Role of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel
5. Development of a Work Programme
6. Combined Authority Forward Plan
Additional documents:
Forward Plan, item 6
7. Calendar of Meetings

One interesting matter to note of local interest is that before the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel had its first public meeting, one of its three (now reduced to two) representatives from Wirral Council (Cllr John Hale from the Conservative Group) had resigned.

That left Cllr Anita Leech as the only councillor from Wirral Council at its first meeting.

1. Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair

Appointment of Chair
Cllr Kevan Wainwright (Hough Green, Halton Borough Council, Labour) was the only nomination for Chair.
Cllr Kevan Wainwright was elected as Chair.

The Chair thanked the other councillors for electing him and asked for apologies for absence. Apologies were given for Cllr Mike Sullivan (Labour, Wirral Council), Cllr Andy Burns (Labour) and Cllr Mark Dowd (Labour).

Cllr Anita Leech (Labour, Wirral Council) pointed out that Cllr John Hale (Conservative, Wirral Council) had resigned. The Chair replied that they were waiting for the [Wirral] Conservative [Group] to nominate a new councillor from Wirral [Council].

Appointment of Vice-Chair

Nobody made any nominations for Vice-Chair. So the Chair asked for nominations for Vice-Chair for a second time in saying “Come on ladies and gentlemen”. Cllr Andy Moorhead was proposed as Vice-Chair by Cllr Anita Leech and this nomination was seconded. There were no other nominations for Vice-Chair so Cllr Andy Moorhead became Vice-Chair.

The Chair congratulated Cllr Andy Moorhead on his election to Vice-Chair.

2. Appointment of Members to the Combined Authority’s Audit Committee

The Chair asked for nominations.

A councillor said, “Can I move *** councillor, *** ****?” The asterisks represent what I couldn’t hear as the councillor wasn’t close enough to their microphone. This nomination was seconded. This unknown person was appointed to the Audit Committee. They were all in favour.

The Chair pointed out that they needed a second nomination.

One of the male councillors present (that was not the Chair) nominated himself, he said, “I’ll self-nominate.” The Chair thanked him for his self-nomination. They were all in favour.

The rest of the meeting was discussion of the reports linked to above and can be watched in the two video clips above.

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3 invoices about the Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement with Peel which raises a VAT question?

3 invoices about the Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement with Peel which raises a VAT question?

3 invoices about the Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement with Peel which raises a VAT question?

                                                    

I’d better start this piece by declaring an interest in that I can see the Wirral Waters site from where I live as it’s not that far away.

Below are three invoices that however many times I look at them don’t make much sense to me. However maybe through writing about them I can make more sense of them. I may have this wrong, so if I have please leave a comment as elements from one invoice appear on the other ones so maybe I’m not counting things correctly.

All three are from Eversheds LLP (a firm of solicitors) with an office in Manchester. I’ll put them in chronological order:

20/2/13 Interim Invoice | Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement (to November 2012) | £10,000 + VAT £2,000 = £12,000 | £10,000 paid by Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited | £2,000 paid by Wirral Council (VAT element)

15/4/13 Interim Invoice | Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement (to November 2012) | £8,133.90 + VAT £1,617.58 = £9,751.48 | £8,133.90 paid by Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited | £1,617.58 to be paid by Wirral Council (VAT element)

29/4/13 Invoice | Wirral Waters Section 106 agreement (28 June 2011 to 31 July 2012) | £8,000 + VAT £1,577.20 = £9.577.20 | £8,000 paid by Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited | £1,577.20 to be paid by Wirral Council (VAT element)

Total (across three invoices) paid by Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited: £10,000 + £8,133.90 + £8,000 = £26,133.90
Total (across three invoices) paid by Wirral Council : £2,000 + £1,617.58 + £1,577.20 = £5,194,78

Which leads me to the obvious question about VAT. When a developer such as Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited have a legal firm (in this case Eversheds) to draw up a section 106 agreement between themselves (Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited) and Wirral Council, why does Wirral Council pay the VAT?

I’m not an accountant, so maybe somebody out there with a better understanding of the tax code and VAT issues can help me! Please leave a comment if you understand this better than me!

Wirral Waters section 106 agreement interim invoice Wirral Council 20th February 2013 £12000
Wirral Waters section 106 agreement interim invoice Wirral Council 20th February 2013 £12000
Wirral Waters section 106 agreement interim invoice Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited 15th April 2013 £9751 48p
Wirral Waters section 106 agreement interim invoice Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited 15th April 2013 £9751 48p
Wirral Waters section 106 agreement invoice Wirral Council 29th April 2013 £9577 20p
Wirral Waters section 106 agreement invoice Wirral Council 29th April 2013 £9577 20p

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Wirral Council spent £2,451.60 with Weightmans LLP on legal advice after reading something about themselves in the press

Wirral Council spent £2,451.60 with Weightmans LLP on legal advice after reading something about themselves in the press

Wirral Council spent £2,451.60 with Weightmans LLP on legal advice after reading something about themselves in the press

                                                        

I will first start by declaring an interest in that I am a member of the press, however I am unsure if it is anything I’ve written about Wirral Council (or something in the local newspapers) that led to the matter I’m writing about below.

Last year Wirral Council received an invoice dated 26th June 2013 from a Liverpool based firm of solicitors called Weightmans LLP. Nothing unusual in that you might say! The invoice was for £2,451.60. So what was this invoice for? It was for “To our professional charges in advising in relation to press comment”.

Oh dear did Wirral Council read something in the press they didn’t like again? Did they not have anybody available to provide internal legal advice on the “press comment” and had to rack up nearly 16 hours of time charged at either £160/hour or £120/hour over this?

I hope it wasn’t about something I wrote on this blog! So what was written in the press at around this time about Wirral Council? Anyone care to enlighten me?

The committee is down as “FIN” which I presume means it was something related to financial matters. Sadly Wirral Council black out the names of the five people (or job descriptions) at Weightmans LLP that provided them with this expensive advice. Anyway reading press articles at £120/hour or £160/hour is nice work if you can get it isn’t it?

The invoice is included below.

Weightmans invoice Wirral Council press comment £2451 60 26 June 2013
Weightmans invoice Wirral Council press comment £2451 60 26 June 2013

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1 invoice and 1 letter about the secret Court application I’m not allowed to write about that cost Wirral Council £535.20

1 invoice and 1 letter about the secret Court application I’m not allowed to write about that cost Wirral Council £535.20

1 invoice and 1 letter about the secret Court application I’m not allowed to write about that cost Wirral Council £535.20

                                  

I’m going to write a story now to show you how difficult it is to do investigative journalism in this country due to the legal framework here, as there are details I know about this story which is would be unlawful for me to publish.

There are two documents associated with this story so first I have to explain the background as to what they are and why I got them. The first is an invoice dated 13th January 2014 to Wirral Council from Lees Solicitors to Wirral Council for the sum of £535.20. This is for:

36 minutes preparation for a hearing at £160/hour 36 minutes which is £96 (+ VAT of £19.20) = £115.20

Counsel’s fee £350 (+VAT of £70) = £420

Grand total: £535.20

Due to legal restrictions *(*don’t you just love this country sometimes and their restrictions on the press?) although I know the names of the parties (such as the Applicant and Respondent) in this case, I’m not allowed to publish either of them on this blog. I cannot tell you who (although I know) the Applicant or Respondent are. In fact I’d better not tell you the date of the hearing, just in case you use that to somehow figure out who the Applicant and Respondent are. As far as I can tell (maybe I’m wrong) I’m not allowed to get a copy of or publish the Court Order (if there is one) that resulted from the hearing to consider the application.

This is openness and transparency in the local courts British style.

So why are Wirral Council paying £535.20 to Lees Solicitors for the legal work outlined in the invoice below? I think I’ve gone as far as I can do in answering that question as the rest would be educated guesswork.

Ironically I get more openness and transparency from Laura Quarry of the Family Court at Birkenhead than I get from Wirral Council in this matter in her letter to me dated 27th October 2014 (also below that the Wirral Council invoice). Mind you it is not hard to be more open and transparent than Wirral Council is it?

Laura Quarry states “Thank you for your letter dated 24th October 2014. This case is a Private Law Family matter. Therefore as you are not a party to this application, we cannot provide you with the documents you have requested. The documents you have requested refer to a civil matter and the case number you have provided is not a civil case number.

If you can provide us with a civil case number we can process your request. Please find enclosed your fee.”

If anyone would like to translate exactly what that means by leaving a comment, please do! I think I understand what she means although I may be wrong!

So which department is involved at Wirral Council in Family Court matters that the press aren’t allowed to write about? Why the Children and Young Peoples Department at Wirral Council of course! Who else?

In a recent change a few years ago, the press can be present at court hearings in the Family Court, however we’re still not allowed to report the details. The Family Court run to a different set of rules to the rest of the court system you see.

redacted invoice Wirral Council £535.20
redacted invoice Wirral Council £535.20
Letter from Birkenhead County Court dated 27th October 2014
Letter from Birkenhead County Court dated 27th October 2014

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The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014 (part 2)

The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014 (part 2)

The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014 (part 2)

                                      

Councillor Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services) at a public meeting earlier this year L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith, Cllr Bernie Mooney and Lyndzay Roberts
Councillor Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services) at a public meeting earlier this year L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services), Cllr Bernie Mooney and Lyndzay Roberts

There’s been a lot of readers of yesterday’s blog post titled The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014.

There was one A4 page handed out to those present at the meeting which was about the Youth Voice Conference 2014. Obviously it would have been interesting to have on video politicians, officers and a young person’s response to these issues raised at the Youth Voice Conference, but considering the politically sensitive nature of some of these issues one can fully understand why there was an effort before the meeting began not to have it filmed, audio taped or photographed.

As one section of it mentions the media, I had better declare an interest in this as a member of the media. As well as politics I also write about video games, so I’d better declare that too. Below is the text of the 1 A4 page handout circulated to the committee, councillors, officers and others present at the public meeting.

Copies of what is below were handed out during the meeting itself by Cllr Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services), as the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee, unlike many other public meetings of politicians at Wirral Council doesn’t have Wirral Council officers from Legal and Member Services assigned to it to deal with such matters. It’s “served” by officers from Wirral Council’s Children and Young People’s Department (or whatever it’s called these days) instead who take a different view on some matters to that of Legal and Member Services.

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Youth Voice Conference 2014

HOT SEAT PANEL QUESTIONS & ISSUES RAISED BY YOUNG PEOPLE

Understanding Autism

  • If you cut resources how will young people on the autistic spectrum be supported in education and employment as currently only 1 in 6 people with autism end up in full-time employment?
  • How can we all work together on the Wirral to have a better understanding of Autism, allowing us to help and support our peers who are on the autistic spectrum?

Dealing with homophobia

  • More help and support is needed on understanding homophobia.
  • More adverts in schools about organisations that can help LGBT young people are needed.
  • A young peoples training group needs to be established to deliver training is schools and other organisations.
  • Accessible and gender neutral toilets are needed in schools and youth units.
  • How do we deal with hate crimes committed by young people?
  • More LGBT safe spaces are needed.

Media literacy

Proposal

  • Wirral Borough Council only uses real people or images in any of their adverts or publications and should promote natural beauty.

Other questions –

  • What regulations exist to address the sexualisation of young people and the impact/pressure resulting in eating disorders?
  • Why are there no limits on the amount of photoshop imaging that is used in the media?

Dealing with loss and Change

  • How will young people with emotional health and well-being issues receive support following the proposed cuts to services?

Social Isolation – caused by social media and Gaming

  • How do the police moderate social media and the propaganda targeted at young people?
    Does Public Health have a strategy regarding social media and the negative effects it has on young people’s health and well-being?

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