A blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council's councillors & officers
A blog about Wirral Council's public meetings, Wirral Council's councillors, Bidston & St. James ward and other public bodies on Merseyside
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 39 New Ferry via Woodside yellow bus Port Sunlight Summer Festival 44 Crowds Port Sunlight Summer Festival 77 Pets as Therapy Port Sunlight Summer Festival 94 Vespas 4 of 5 Port Sunlight Summer Festival 101 Nissan Leaf Electric Car Port Sunlight Summer Festival Sue Taylor Radio Clatterbridge stall
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 39 New Ferry via Woodside yellow bus
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 44 Crowds
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 77 Pets as Therapy
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 94 Vespas 4 of 5
Port Sunlight Summer Festival 101 Nissan Leaf Electric Car
Port Sunlight Summer Festival Sue Taylor Radio Clatterbridge stall
From 1991 to 1994 Wirral Council had a duty to provide up to 15 sites for travellers. The question is where are these sites now? Sadly the law was repealed in 1994.
In 2000 Irish Travellers were granted legal protection under the Race Relations Act, which begs the question is Wirral Council moving them on because they’re Irish travellers or because of some lawful power to do so? How much is Wirral Council spending on getting possession orders through the courts against Irish travellers and where’s the public interest in doing so?
The ones that stayed in Bidston & St. James near Birkenhead North railway station were only there a short time. I mean the clue is surely in the name, travellers and if you have the patience travellers do move on, it just seems heavy-handed to waste scarce taxpayer resources to compel them to do so or force them to do what they already have done.
Interest declaration: The author of this piece earns a living from blogging and filming.
Interest declaration: This is being published on a blog which’ll be affected by the new legislation.
Interest declaration: The author of this piece and editor is an NUJ member.
Yes this is a blog post on the important new The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.
This comes into effect on the 10th September 2012 (in just under three weeks time at writing this).
Some of the changes it brings on Wirral Council (and its relationship with the press are welcomed) and I summarise below. I’m surprised this is the first I’ve heard of it though.
Change 1
The definition of media (which currently basically covers print (newspapers and magazines) and broadcast (radio, TV etc)) is being broadened. It’ll be expanded so that new media reporters (Internet blogs, tweeting etc) will be covered by the current definition of who a journalist is.
Change 2
There are a variety of changes which make it easier for individual councillors at Wirral Council (presumably the Lib Dem/Tory opposition) to challenge decisions made by the Labour Executive.
Change 3
More transparency on various decisions taken by the Executive that affect more than one council ward, incur new significant spending or new savings.
Change 4
Councils can no longer cite “political advice” as a reason to exclude the public.
Change 5
If a meeting is due to be closed to the public, the council has to justify why it has to be closed and give 28 days notice of such a decision.
Change 6
Some of the legislation on Forward Plans (brought it by the last Labour Government) is being changed.
Quote from Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP (the Conservative Government Minister):
“Every decision a council takes has a major impact on the lives of local people so it is crucial that whenever it takes a significant decision about local budgets that affect local communities whether it is in a full council meeting or in a unheard of sub-committee it has got to be taken in the full glare of all the press and any of the public.
Margaret Thatcher was first to pry open the doors of Town Hall transparency. Fifty years on we are modernising those pioneering principles so that every kind of modern journalists can go through those doors – be it from the daily reporter, the hyper-local news website or the armchair activist and concerned citizen blogger – councils can no longer continue to persist with a digital divide.”
Chris Taggart, of OpenlyLocal.com, which has long championed the need to open council business up to public scrutiny, added:
“In a world where hi-definition video cameras are under £100 and hyperlocal bloggers are doing some of the best council reporting in the country, it is crazy that councils are prohibiting members of the public from videoing, tweeting and live-blogging their meetings.“
John Brace, Editor said,
“Nearly forty years after the Internet first came into existence, the rights of “citizen journalists” are being enshrined in legislation. Local authorities should not be frightened by the extra scrutiny and transparency this will bring.
As a professional working in this area I welcome some of the changes this will bring on my reporting of Wirral Council, Liverpool City Council (and other local authorities) and I wonder if it will also include other local political bodies such as Merseytravel, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority and the soon to be abolished Merseyside Police Authority.
However the existing laws on relationships with the press (print, broadcast, new media and others) need to be adhered to by Wirral Council. The press and the unions such as the NUJ also need to make sure that Wirral Council will “move with the times” and adhere to the new laws and comply with both the spirit and the letter of the new legislation.”
I will be providing a further update to this post once I have had the opportunity to read the legislation and digest its implications in full.
Although no building work was scheduled here, Wirral Partnership’s Homes’ contractor Brammall Construction Limited have taken out the two phone lines here, the one used for this blog 0151 512 2500 and the the other phone line too.
You’ll just have to wait till tomorrow when (hopefully it gets fixed) if you want to speak to me.
Just for clarity I don’t live in a Wirral Partnership Homes property, but this doesn’t stop their contractors jumping over a fence and chopping up our cables it seems. *sighs* I did contact the police but they’re not interested it seems if someone trespasses and causes damage. As far as they’re concerned chopping four cables in two isn’t a crime…. personally I always thought it was aggravated trespass and criminal damage, but it seems the police have better things to do than record or solve crime these days….
P.S. The mysterious flood in the kitchen is also denied by WPH and Brammall Construction, despite them installing a new tap metres from where it happened… oh and the heads chopped of our roses, graffiti and other things would probably be denied by them too…
P.P.S I hope it isn’t revenge for reporting Brammall Construction’s Ltd large donation £2,000 to the Birkenhead Constituency Labour Party? Surely this latest is mere incompetence and not deliberate?
P.P.P.S Phone line is now fixed.
P.P.P.S 17:00 22/8/12 Brammall/WPH offer £50 compensation.
Investigation and Disciplinary Committee
Date: 20th August 2012
Time: 4.00pm
Committee Room 2
Investigation and Disciplinary Committee minutes (20th August 2012) (approved 21st September 2012)
Investigation and Disciplinary Committee (20/8/2012) Agenda
Present
Councillors (7/7)
Cllr Dave Mitchell Liberal Democrat
Cllr Adrian Jones Labour
Cllr Lesley Rennie Conservative
Cllr Mike Hornby Conservative
Cllr Ann McLachlan Labour
Cllr Brian Kenny Labour
Cllr Anne McArdle Labour
Wirral Council Officers
Shirley Hudspeth (Committee Services Officer)
Chris Hyams, Human Resources (Head)
Tony Williams, Human Resources (Acting Employee Relations Manager)
Surjit Tour, Acting Head of Law, Human Resources and Asset Management
David Armstrong
Unknown female
Unknown male
Also
Items 1-3 Two members of the press/public
The agenda for this meeting can be found here.
Agenda Item 1 – Appointment of Chair
Cllr Brian Kenny and Cllr Adrian Jones proposed Cllr Ann McLachlan as Chair.
There were no other nominations so Cllr McLachlan was made Chair.
Cllr Dave Mitchell proposed Cllr Adrian Jones as Vice-Chair, however it wasn’t seconded. There was a second valid nomination as Vice-Chair so Cllr Brian Kenny was made Vice-Chair.
Agenda Item 2 – Members’ Code of Conduct – Declarations of Interest
Councillors present made no declarations of interest.
Agenda Item 3 – Exempt Information – Exclusion of the Press and Public
The Chair suggested that the public and press were excluded from the rest of the meeting for agenda item 4 (Update in Relation to the Suspension of Council Officers) (reason given – Information relating to any individual and agenda item 5 (Any Other Urgent Business Approved by the Chair) (although there was no AOB).
Agenda Item 4 – Update in Relation to the Suspension of Council Officers
The Investigation and Disciplinary Committee received an update in a 16-page preliminary investigation report about the matters that led to the suspensions of Bill Norman, Ian Coleman and David Taylor-Smith (but also relate in part to the earlier suspension of David Green).
It related in part to:-
1) This public interest report published by the Audit Commission on 8th June 2012 entitled Highways and engineering services contract award and management.
2) The Council’s policies on senior officers declaring interests and whether these had been followed.
3) Various other matters relating to the above four suspended individuals.
The following resolution was then agreed,
“(1) the progress being made in respect of the preliminary investigation be noted; and
(2) the way forward in relation to the three Statutory Officers, as outlined in paragraph 5.6 of the report, be agreed.”
Agenda Item 5 Any Other Business
It has been confirmed by Wirral Council that there were no items of Any Other Business agreed by the Chair tabled at the meeting.
Left (L to R): Unknown officer (male), Shirley Hudspeth (officer)
Right (Left to Right)
Cllr Dave Mitchell (Lab)
Cllr Adrian Jones (Lab)
Cllr Brian Kenny (Lab)
Cllr Ann McLachlan (Lab)
Cllr Mike Hornby (Con)
Left: Shirley Hudspeth
Right Foreground
L to R Cllr Mike Hornby (Con), Cllr Lesley Rennie (Con)
Right Background
Cllr Dave Mitchell (Lib Dem), Cllr Adrian Jones (Labour)
Background: Shirley Hudspeth
Foreground: Left to Right
Tony Williams (Officer), HR
Unknown Officer? (female)
Chris Hyams (Officer), HR
Unknown Officer? (male)