John Brace | A blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council's councillors & officers

If a councillor on Wirral Council’s Planning Committee is lobbied and no form is submitted, does anyone know about it?

At the time of writing, there is an election underway. Once the results are know, twenty-three people will become councillors and asked to sign a declaration that they each accept the office of councillor. Regulation 2 of The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) Order 1990 specifies the form that a declaration should take. It is short so it is copied below.

DECLARATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE

I, ……. having been elected to the office of councillor declare that I take that office upon myself, and will duly and faithfully fulfill the duties of it according to the best of my judgement and ability.

I undertake to be guided by the National Code of Local Government Conduct in the performance of my functions in that office.

Date ………. Signed ……..

This declaration was made and signed before me

Signed ……..

*Proper officer of the council of the county, district or London Borough of ……

*If the declaration is made before any other person authorised by section 83(3) of the Local Government Act 1972, adapt accordingly.

So all the councillors on Wirral Council’s Planning Committee have each signed a clause in their acceptance of office which states they will “be guided” by the National Code of Local Government Conduct when undertaking their duties as councillor.

The National Code of Local Government Conduct, which the Secretary of State issues under s.31 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 states this on the subject of lobbying about planning applications.

LOCAL SUPPLEMENT TO CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS

Contracts, Planning Applications etc: Canvassing

If you are canvassed by any member of the public who requests, directly or indirectly, your aid in securing a business contract with the Council or in the determination of a planning or other application you shall, subject to the qualification contained in the following paragraph, report such canvassing to the Director of Corporate Services, who shall investigate and, where appropriate, report on such canvassing to the Council.
Subject to paragraph 6 below in relation to contracts, a passing comment by a member of the public on a matter of public interest should not necessarily be construed as canvassing; in assessing whether an approach merits reporting the matter to the Director of Corporate Services, you should consider the circumstances of the approach and whether the approach appears to be made from a narrow vested interest or whether it can justly be described as being in the wider public interest.

Wirral Council has a Code of Conduct to guide both councillors and officers in how planning matters are dealt with. The sections of it that deal with lobbying and the National Code of Local Government Conduct are included below.

1.2 This Code of Conduct relating to Planning Matters is intended to be supplementary to the National Code of Local Government Conduct prepared by the Secretary of State for the Environment under provision of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The provisions of the National Code continue to have full force and effect. The purpose of this Code is to provide more detailed guidance on the standards to be applied in relation to planning related issues.

….

1.6 It is recognised that Members will, from time to time, be approached by developers and objectors in relation to planning proposals.

1.7 Part of this Code is intended to assist Members in dealing with and recording such approaches and is designed to ensure that the integrity of the decision making process is preserved.

2. Lobbying

2.1 To ensure that the integrity of the decision making process is not impaired, either in reality or in perception, through the lobbying of members who will make decisions, it is important that any approaches by lobbyists are recorded and that any representations made to members form part of the public information leading to any decision. If an approach is received by a member of the Planning Committee, from an applicant, agent or other interested party in relation to an existing or proposed planning application, then the member shall:

Inform such applicant, agent or interested party that, in order to avoid accusations of partiality, he/she is only able to offer procedural advice and that any such person should either write to officers of the Council or write or speak to a member(s) who is not on the Planning Committee. This should not however be taken to mean that members who are on the Planning Committee should not listen to the views that the lobbyist wishes to express.

Complete the standard form provided, and forward this to the Acting Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning. This will enable a record to be kept of any such approach. This form of record keeping will assist individual members to counter any accusations that his or her decision has in some way been biased or partial.

Where a member of the Planning Committee receives written representations directly in relation to a planning application, (or proposed planning application) the member should pass a copy of the correspondence to the Acting Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning in order that those representations can be included in the officer’s report to the Committee.

2.2 Members of the Planning Committee should avoid organising support for or opposition to a planning application and avoid lobbying other Members. Such actions can easily be misunderstood by parties to the application and by the general public. Members of the Planning Committee should also not put pressure on officers for a particular recommendation.

So to recap, both the National Code of Local Government Conduct (which councillors on the Planning Committee have signed a form to state that they’ll be guided by in their decision-making) and Wirral Council’s own Code of Conduct state that if a councillor on the Planning Committee is lobbied over a planning application, then the councillor should contact an employee of Wirral Council to report it. Wirral Council’s Code of Conduct makes it clear that this is to the Acting Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning. The post of Acting Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning no longer exists since the senior management restructure. However the equivalent officer now would either be the Director of Regeneration David Ball or the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment Kevin Adderley.

Last month I made a Freedom of Information Act request to Wirral Council for both a copy of the blank form that councillors are to use to record such lobbying approaches and a copy of any forms submitted over the past twelve months (March 2013 to March 2014).

Despite the 20 day legal time limit for responding to my request expiring five days ago, Wirral Council haven’t (yet) supplied a copy of a blank form. However Wirral Council have stated that covering the period March 2013 to March 2014 it has no records of any forms detailing lobbying approaches to councillors on the Planning Committee.

On the 20th February the Planning Committee decided to refuse planning application APP/13/01375. The Planning Committee’s decision to refuse has since been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate who will reach a decision at some point after 21st May.

Prior to the Planning Committee deciding to refuse the application, the Chair of the Planning Committee Councillor Bernie Mooney received a two-page letter. The letter was sent by Edward Landor Associates who were acting on behalf of the applicant and states “It is requested a copy of this letter is made available to all Committee Members”. The two page letter is below and you can click on each page for a higher definition and more readable image if you want to read it in full.

Letter from Edward Landor Associates to Councillor Bernie Mooney Page 1 of 2

Letter from Edward Landor Associates to Councillor Bernie Mooney Page 2 of 2

This two page letter is clearly lobbying of a councillor on the Planning Committee. If the letter was circulated to the whole Planning Committee it is a letter lobbying every councillor on the Planning Committee. Shouldn’t councillors on the Planning Committee who received the letter have filled out a form recording this lobbying? So why do Wirral Council in response to my FOI request state “Wirral Borough Council can confirm that no such forms have been submitted during the specified timeframe”?

At the start of the Planning Committee on 20th February that made the decision on the planning application referred to above, Councillor Bernie Mooney went through some of the provisions in Wirral Council’s Code of Conduct for planning matters and then said (you can watch a video of her saying this by following the link) “They’re the rules as they stand. So they’re the rules I hope everybody understands them, I don’t think I’ve missed anything out. My job is just to make sure everything runs smoothly and everything is complied with”.

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Does the new law on filming public meetings apply to police and crime panels meetings in England?

@level80 In which case the regulations go further than http://t.co/MLa3Evqw2o appears to allow. Cld you expand in comment on your blog?

— Richard Taylor (@RTaylorUK) April 25, 2014

Richard Taylor asks me if the changes to legislation that will happen when the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 becomes law will apply to public meetings of the police and crime panels.

1. The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 came into force on 22nd November 2012. In these regulations, a police and crime panel (in England) is called an English Part 3 panel.

2. Regulation 4 of The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 states “The enactments listed in Part 2 of the Schedule apply in relation to an English Part 3 panel and the members of such a panel.” Part 2 s.10 of the Schedule lists “Part VA of, and Schedule 12A to, the Local Government Act 1972 (access to meetings and documents of certain authorities, committees and sub-committees).”

3. Regulation 6 of The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 states:

In their application by virtue of regulations 3 to 5, the enactments listed in Parts 1 to 3 of the Schedule have effect as if —

(a) the functions of the panel were functions of the relevant local authority (in a single-authority police area) or the relevant local authorities (in a multi-authority police area);
(b) the panel were a committee of the relevant local authority (in a single-authority police area) or a joint committee of the relevant local authorities (in a multi-authority police area), appointed for the purpose of discharging those functions under section 102(1) of the Local Government Act 1972(1);
(c) a councillor panel member were serving on such a committee (in a single authority police area) or joint committee (in a multi-authority police area) in the member’s capacity as a councillor; and
(d) an independent panel member were a member of such a committee (in a single-authority police area) or a member of, and representing the host authority on, such a joint committee (in a multi-authority police area), and entitled to vote on any question that falls to be decided at a meeting of the committee or joint-committee.

4. The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 when it has the force of law, makes amendments to the part of the Local Government Act 1972 which deals with public meetings:

Amendment of the Local Government Act 1972

4. (1) Section 100A of the 1972 Act (admission to meetings of principal councils) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (5) insert—

“(5A) Where the public are excluded from a meeting of a principal council in England under subsection (2) or (4), the council may also prevent any person from reporting on the meeting using methods—

(a) which can be used without that person’s presence at the meeting, and
(b) which enable persons not present at the meeting to see or hear the proceedings at the meeting as it takes place or later.”
(3) In subsection (6), at the beginning of paragraph (c) insert “subject to subsection (7D),”.

(4) In subsection (7), at the beginning insert “Subject to subsection (7A)”.

(5) After subsection (7) insert—

“(7A) While a meeting of a principal council in England is open to the public, any person attending is to be permitted to report on the meeting.

(7B) Subsection (7A) does not require a principal council in England to permit oral reporting or oral commentary on a meeting as it takes place if the person reporting or providing the commentary is present at the meeting.

(7C) A person attending a meeting of a principal council in England for the purpose of reporting on the meeting must, so far as practicable, be afforded reasonable facilities for doing so.

(7D) Subsection (7C) applies in place of subsection (6)(c) in the case of a principal council in England.

(7E) Any person who attends a meeting of a principal council in England for the purpose of reporting on the meeting may use any communication method, including the internet, to publish, post or otherwise share the results of the person’s reporting activities.

(7F) Publication and dissemination may take place at the time of the meeting or occur after the meeting.”

(6) After subsection (8) insert—

“(9) In this section “reporting” means—

(a) filming, photographing or making an audio recording of proceedings at a meeting,
(b) using any other means for enabling persons not present to see or hear proceedings at a meeting as it takes place or later, or
(c) reporting or providing commentary on proceedings at a meeting, orally or in writing, so that the report or commentary is available as the meeting takes place or later to persons not present.”
(7) In section 100E of that Act (application to committees and sub-committees), after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) But in section 100A, subsections (5A), (7A) to (7F) and (9) do not apply to a committee which is appointed or established jointly by one or more principal councils in England and one or more principal councils in Wales, or a sub-committee of such a committee.”

(8) In section 100J of that Act (application of Part 5A to new authorities, Common Council etc.)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “Except in this section,” insert “and subject as follows,”, and
(b) after subsection (2A) insert—
“(2B) In section 100A, subsections (5A), (7A) to (7F) and (9) do not apply to—

(a) a joint waste authority;
(b) the Common Council other than in its capacity as a local authority or police authority;
(c) a joint board or a joint committee falling within subsection (2) above;
(d) the Homes and Communities Agency; or
(e) a Mayoral development corporation.”

5. Therefore the changes would affect public meetings of police and crime panels as holding public meetings is a function of the police and crime panel. Police and crime panels are not a joint committee falling within subsection (2) of 100J as they are (as far as I know) not a body corporate but joint committees of the councils in the area they cover. The modification to the Local Government Act 1972 by Regulation 4(7) of the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 rules out the changes applying to any police and crime panel (or joint committee) which covered both England and Wales.

However the existing s.100E states “(3) Any reference in this Part to a committee or sub-committee of a principal council is a reference to (a) a committee which is constituted under an enactment specified in section 101(9) below or which is appointed by one or more principal councils under section 102 below”

Police and crime panels (in multi-authority areas) are appointed by one or more principal councils under section 102, see Regulation 6 of The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012.

6. The amendments made to the Local Government Act 1972 therefore do affect police and crime panels.

7. The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 however also modify the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. These amendments however add a new definition of “local government body” which doesn’t include police and crime panels.

An article written published on the Local Government Lawyer website on Thursday by a partner at Bevan Brittan LLP called Olwen Dutton also states her opinion that the new regulations will cover filming of police and crime panel meetings. In a similar article headlined Local government meetings: now the movie – or the crime scene? on Bevan Brittan LLP’s website two weeks ago also by Olwen Dutton she states that the new regulations will cover meetings of the police and crime panel.

Also when the draft regulations were consulted on the descriptive summary explicitly stated that police and crime panels would be covered by the new regulations.

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Who are the 113 candidates in the 2014 Wirral Council elections?

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

The nomination period for anyone wishing to stand as a candidate in the elections to become a councillor at Wirral Council closed yesterday. As usual elections in each of the twenty-two wards on Wirral are all being contested. Voters in Greasby, Frankby & Irby ward will elect two councillors due to the recent resignation of Tony Cox. Wards are listed alphabetically, then the candidates alphabetically by surname. If you are unsure what ward you live in you can enter your postcode here or check your polling card.

Name of ward	Name of candidate	Description
Bebington	Des Drury	The Conservative Party Candidate
Bebington	Peter Leslie Faulkner	Liberal Democrats
Bebington	Hilary Jane Jones	UK Independence Party
Bebington	Anthony Smith	Green Party
Bebington	Walter Smith	Labour Party Candidate
Bidston & St. James	Colin Dignam-Gill	Green Party
Bidston & St. James	Geoffrey Peter Dormand	The Conservative Party Candidate
Bidston & St. James	Ann Rose Catherine McLachlan	Labour Party Candidate
Bidston & St. James	Greg North	Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts
Bidston & St. James	Cathy Williams	UK Independence Party
Bidston & St. James	Roy John Wood	Liberal Democrat
Birkenhead & Tranmere	Pat Cleary	Green Party
Birkenhead & Tranmere	June Irene Cowin	The Conservative Party Candidate
Birkenhead & Tranmere	Brian Kenny	Labour Party Candidate
Birkenhead & Tranmere	Laurence John Sharpe-Stevens	UK Independence Party
Bromborough	Sue Colquhoun	UK Independence Party
Bromborough	Penelope Ruth Golby	Liberal Democrats
Bromborough	Percy Hogg	Green Party
Bromborough	Peter Charles Taylor	Conservative Party Candidate
Bromborough	Irene Williams	Labour Party Candidate
Clatterbridge	Matthew James Donnelly	Liberal Democrats
Clatterbridge	Jenny Holliday	Labour Party Candidate
Clatterbridge	Roger Laurence Jones	UK Independence Party
Clatterbridge	Tracy Ann Smith	The Conservative Party Candidate
Clatterbridge	Colin William Thompson	Green Party
Claughton	Paul Thomas Cartlidge	Green Party
Claughton	Philip William Barrington Griffiths	UK Independence Party
Claughton	Denise Elizabeth Roberts	Labour Party Candidate
Claughton	Barbara Vera Sinclair	The Conservative Party Candidate
Claughton	Chris Teggin	Liberal Democrat
Eastham	Ryan Bingham	UK Independence Party
Eastham	Christopher David Carubia	Liberal Democrats
Eastham	Oliver George Downing	Green Party
Eastham	Keith Ross Jack	Conservative Party Candidate
Eastham	Mike Thompson	Labour Party Candidate
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Tom Anderson	Conservative Party Candidate
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Wendy Clements	Conservative Party Candidate
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	John Peter Cresswell	Liberal Democrat
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Laurence Creswell Jones	UK Independence Party
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Julie McManus	Labour Party Candidate
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Cathy Page	Green Party
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Peter Timothy Clifford Reisdorf	Liberal Democrat
Greasby, Frankby & Irby	Lee Anthony Rushworth	Labour Party Candidate
Heswall	Barbara Florence Burton	Green Party
Heswall	Michael Charles Holliday	Labour Party Candidate
Heswall	Les Rowlands	The Conservative Party Candidate
Heswall	David Anthony Scott	UK Independence Party
Heswall	David Robert Tyrrell	Liberal Democrats
Hoylake & Meols	Eddie Boult	Conservative Party Candidate
Hoylake & Meols	Pat Glasman	Labour Party Candidate
Hoylake & Meols	Joseph Michael McDowell	Liberal Democrat
Hoylake & Meols	Yvonne McGinley	Green Party
Hoylake & Meols	George David Robinson	UK Independence Party
Leasowe & Moreton East	David Michael Dubost	Green Party
Leasowe & Moreton East	Treena Ann Johnson	Labour Party Candidate
Leasowe & Moreton East	Ian Lewis	Local Conservatives
Leasowe & Moreton East	Frank Naylor Whitham	UK Independence Party
Liscard	Daniel Clein	Liberal Democrats – For A Fairer Britain
Liscard	Matthew Daniel	Labour Party Candidate
Liscard	Ann Lavin	Local Conservatives
Liscard	Craig John Reynolds	Green Party
Liscard	Lynda Ellen Williams	UK Independence Party
Moreton West & Saughall Massie	Bruce Berry	Local Conservatives
Moreton West & Saughall Massie	Karl Gerard Greaney	Labour Party Candidate
Moreton West & Saughall Massie	Perle Winifred Sheldricks	Green Party
Moreton West & Saughall Massie	Susan Jane Whitham	UK Independence Party
New Brighton	Dr. John Duncan Brown	UK Independence Party
New Brighton	John Howe	Green Party
New Brighton	Tony Pritchard	Local Conservatives
New Brighton	Christine Spriggs	Labour Party Candidate
Oxton	Alan Brighouse	Liberal Democrat
Oxton	Angela Joy Davies	Labour Party Candidate
Oxton	Peter Hartley	The Conservative Party Candidate
Oxton	Liz Heydon	Green Party
Oxton	David Martin	UK Independence Party
Pensby & Thingwall	Allen John Burton	Green Party
Pensby & Thingwall	Damien William Cummins	Liberal Democrat Focus Team
Pensby & Thingwall	Jan Davison	UK Independence Party
Pensby & Thingwall	Denis Thomas Knowles	Conservative Party Candidate
Pensby & Thingwall	Louise Ann Reecejones	Labour Party Candidate
Prenton	Jim Bradshaw	UK Independence Party
Prenton	Allan John Brame	Liberal Democrat
Prenton	Moira Joan Gommon	Green Party
Prenton	Hilary Margaret Jones	Conservative Party Candidate
Prenton	Denise Ann Realey	Labour Party Candidate
Rock Ferry	Karl Cummings	Green Party
Rock Ferry	Ann Flynn	UK Independence Party
Rock Ferry	Brian Joseph Hall	Liberal Democrat
Rock Ferry	Moira McLaughlin	Labour Party Candidate
Rock Ferry	Barbara Frances Poole	The Conservative Party Candidate
Rock Ferry	James Kenneth Pritchard	Independent
Seacombe	Jayne Louise Stephanie Clough	Green Party
Seacombe	Adrian Edward Rowland Jones	Labour Party Candidate
Seacombe	Karl Raymond Mercer	Independent
Seacombe	Suzanne Sheppick	Local Conservatives
Seacombe	Christopher John Wellstead	UK Independence Party
Upton	Geoffrey Robert Caton	UK Independence Party
Upton	Alan Davies	Liberal Democrat
Upton	Geoffrey Ian Gubb	Conservative Party Candidate
Upton	Jim McGinley	Green Party
Upton	Stuart Edward Whittingham	Labour Party Candidate
Wallasey	John Richard Codling	Liberal Democrats
Wallasey	Brian Farrell	UK Independence Party
Wallasey	Lesley Ann Rennie	Local Conservatives
Wallasey	Paul Ronayne	Labour Party Candidate
Wallasey	Cynthia Stonall	Green Party
West Kirby & Thurstaston	Charles Frederick Barnes	Independent
West Kirby & Thurstaston	Helen Louise Campbell	Labour Party Candidate
West Kirby & Thurstaston	David Evennett	UK Independence Party
West Kirby & Thurstaston	Jeff Green	The Conservative Party Candidate
West Kirby & Thurstaston	Shirley Ann Johnson	Green Party
West Kirby & Thurstaston	Mike Redfearn	Liberal Democrat

You can find out the candidates’ home addresses and who proposed each candidate in the Statement of Persons Nominated.

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4 councillors ban filming at Merseyside Police and Crime Panel public meeting but support police filming the public

Police and Crime Panel meet at Birkenhead Town Hall 24th April 2014

Merseyside Police and Crime Panel (Birkenhead Town Hall) 24th April 2014 taken after the meeting had finished Left to Right Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council officer, Councillor Frank Prendergast (Vice-Chair) (Labour, Liverpool City Council), Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council officer, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council officer, Joseph Edwards (Independent Co-opted Member) (Mr. Edwards wasn’t present from the start of the meeting but arrived late), Councillor Moira McLaughlin (Labour, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council), Councillor Doreen Kerrigan (Labour, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council), Councillor Peter Brennan (Labour, Liverpool City Council)

The meeting started with two announcements the Vice-Chair (Councillor Prendergast) wished to make. The first was he asked for the noisy tea urn at the back of the room to be switched off as he said he had hearing problems. The second announcement Councillor Frank Prendergast (Labour, Liverpool City Council) wanted to make was to say that a request was made to film the public meeting of the Merseyside Police and Crime Panel which he had turned down because “confidential” things may be said during the meeting. However he said the public were welcome to stay for the whole meeting.

At this point as the Chair said it was his decision, I asked if he was making that on behalf of the whole Merseyside Police and Crime Panel as their rules of procedure agreed by the Merseyside Police and Crime Panel last July stated that this decision was of the whole Panel:

“21.1 No audio or visual record of proceedings (or part of the proceedings) of a Panel, Sub-Committee or Working Group meeting may be taken without the express permission of the Panel, Sub-Committee or the Working Group concerned.”

He replied that he was. None of the other three Labour councillors present said anything at this point, nor was a vote taken. I asked the Chair at the close of the meeting to provide a quote as to why he’d been against the public meeting being filmed. He told me he was too busy to provide a quote as he had to leave (the meeting was held in Birkenhead) to go to Clatterbridge via Liverpool.

Although the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 which prevent bodies such as the Police and Crime Panel stopping filming of their public meetings have been laid before the House of Commons on the 3rd April 2014 by the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, due to Parliament breaking up for Easter a week later a resolution approving the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 hasn’t yet been passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords. So it doesn’t yet have the force of law.

However this is what Labour’s front bench spokesperson, Hilary Benn MP had to say when the issue was debated last year in the House of Commons:

“We will therefore support that change, and also the proposal that councils in England should allow the recording and videoing of council and committee meetings. In this day and age, big changes in technology make recording and videoing readily possible, and I cannot see the difference between sitting in a meeting, listening and writing down what is being said, or—for those who have shorthand—taking a verbatim record, and making one’s own recording.”

The Merseyside Police and Crime Panel is a joint committee of the councils on Merseyside. The new Labour chaired Liverpool City Region Authority also declined a request to film their first public meeting. The Liverpool City Region Authority’s constitution delegated such matters to the Chief Executive of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Sheena Ramsey. Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council is also the host authority for the Merseyside Police and Crime Panel.

Has the message from Labour’s front bench spokesperson Hilary Benn MP to “support the change” to “allow the recording and videoing of council and committee meetings” fallen on deaf ears? Do the four Labour councillors who made the decision to prevent filming yesterday (Councillor Frank Prendergast, Councillor Doreen Kerrigan, Councillor Peter Brennan and Councillor Moira McLaughlin (who is currently Labour’s candidate in Rock Ferry ward)) realise how strange it seems for their party’s national spokesperson to say one thing yet Labour councillors locally on Merseyside to do the complete opposite?

My comments on what happened are that currently the public (and press) already do have the right to film, blog and tweet at public meetings. This is granted to them by article 10 (freedom of expression) of the Human Rights Act 1998 c.42. It is unlawful for any public body to act in a way that is incompatible with article 10 (freedom of expression) due to section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. In an ironic twist the Merseyside Police and Crime panel during the meeting discussed the wearing of cameras in public by police officers and were supportive of it.

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How much will Wirral Council have to pay B&M Retail Limited to settle an outstanding compensation claim?

One of the new items added to Wirral Council’s Forward Plan (which will be decided by Wirral Council’s Cabinet in June) is The Wirral Borough Council (Grange Road, Birkenhead) Compulsory Purchase Order 2008 which relates to an outstanding compensation claim.

Although the Forward Plan doesn’t mention it, Cabinet will be asked to accept a recommendation from officers to settle a claim made by B&M Retail Limited arising from the The Wirral Borough Council (Grange Road, Birkenhead) Compulsory Purchase Order 2008.

B & M Retail Limited objected to Wirral Council’s use of compulsory purchase orders to build an Asda in Birkenhead Town Centre which resulted in a planning inquiry. The twenty-four page report of the Planning Inspector Christina Downes into Wirral Council’s use of their compulsory purchase order powers can be read by following that link.

Two of the people at Wirral Council named on the equality impact assessment for the recommendation to June’s Cabinet to settle the compensation claim of B&M Retail Limited will be familiar to those who have read the media coverage about the court case involving the tenants of Fernbank Farm back in January. They are EIA Lead Officer Tony Simpson (line manager for David Dickenson) and Chief Officer David Armstrong. Head of Section Jeannette Royle is also named on the Equality Impact Assessment.

How much the compensation claim of B&M Retail Limited is for is not known, however it is likely to be for a large amount. It is listed as a key decision on the Forward Plan, which means it is either for £500,000+ or is for ten percent or more of the agreed budget for this area. The Cabinet Member for this area is Councillor Adrian Jones (Cabinet Member for Central and Support Services).

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If a councillor on Wirral Council’s Planning Committee is lobbied and no form is submitted, does anyone know about it?

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Does the new law on filming public meetings apply to police and crime panels meetings in England?

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Who are the 113 candidates in the 2014 Wirral Council elections?

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4 councillors ban filming at Merseyside Police and Crime Panel public meeting but support police filming the public

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How much will Wirral Council have to pay B&M Retail Limited to settle an outstanding compensation claim?

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