Will councillors vote to gag a debate on whether Girtrell Court decision is made in public?
Bernard Halley (left) talking about Girtrell Court at the Wirral West Constituency Committee 11th February 2016 L to R (foreground) Bernard Halley, David L to R (background) Graham Hodkinson, Cllr Matthew Patrick
The reason the debate might not be heard is because of Standing Order 17(1) in Wirral Council’s constitution (see page 162:
17. Rescission of preceding resolution
(1) No decision of the Council (including a decision taken by a committee or panel under delegated powers) may be reconsidered by the Council on a notice of motion within six months of the date of the earlier decision unless the notice of motion (under Standing Order 7) is signed by 17 members of the Council. If that motion is rejected by the Council neither it nor one to the same effect can be considered by the Council for six months.
However standing order 17, doesn’t apply to debates on large petitions, which are dealt with according to Wirral Council’s petitions scheme.
In the case of a petition of at the time of writing 6,593 signatures the petition scheme states “Petitions that must be considered by the Council – these must be signed by at least 3,000 people who live in the Borough”.
So in order for there to be a debate on Girtrell Court tonight either:
(a) Councillors could decide to suspend standing order 17 to allow the debate on Girtrell Court to go ahead, or
(b) Bernard Halley submits his large petition which triggers a fifteen minute debate as debates on petitions aren’t subject to standing order 17 or
(c) Councillor Blakeley finds fifteen other councillors to sign his notice of motion and therefore the debate goes ahead.
Tonight’s public meeting of Wirral Council will start at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber at Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe, CH44 8ED.
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Incredible: FOI reveals “the Council are seeking to draw a line under matters in relation to Mr Morton”
Incredible: FOI reveals “the Council are seeking to draw a line under matters in relation to Mr Morton”
Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee Wirral Council 3rd November 2014 L to R Legal adviser who was missing Cllr Moira McLaughlin (Chair), Clare Fish and Graham Hodkinson
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations” (George Orwell)
Or as Mr. Tour put it before the U-turn, “This is clearly a serious matter and I formally request that you immediately remove the email and the associated commentary concerning this subject matter from your blog.” Yes it seems even Mr. Tour can get quite cross!
This is the public sector, I’m writing news that falls within the George Orwell quote above, news that from a public relations perspective “they” don’t want the public to know.
I think if I could be paid off with a generous pension and a large six-figure redundancy payment and a confidentiality agreement, they’d have tried it by now!
So it’s time for some more public interest journalism. Something that falls within the George Orwell quote above.
This is an email which sums Wirral Council up, but I’d better explain. Emma Degg was the head of the press office, Surjit refers to Surjit Tour (Monitoring Officer/Head of their Legal Department), Joe Blott has responsibility for industrial relations and is Surjit Tour’s line manager, Graham Burgess was Chief Executive and Joe Blott’s line manager.
Graham Hodkinson is in charge of Adult Social Services (you can read the war of words between him and Cllr Blakleley over Girtrell Court elsewhere in the press) and Rob Vickers, well I don’t like to spoil the surprise (but he’s not the famous rugby player of the same name).
This response to a FOI request was made through whatdotheyknow.com, but Wirral Council felt the information was so embarrassing that they didn’t want it published there.
From: Vickers, Rob Sent: 18 June 2013 08:09 To: Hodkinson, Graham R. Subject: FW: Financial Liability
Hi Graham, I have now discussed this matter with Emma Degg, still no response from Surjit, Emma has advised that we should respond to Mr Morton as we would respond to anyone else and that our reply should be concise and cover the following – thank him for his Email, note his continuing oversight and scrutiny of the matters referenced and reinforce that the matter is subject to due process. The response should be in letter form and we should share letter with Joe Blott and Graham Burgess, due to wider matters relating to Mr Morton – the Council are seeking to draw a line under matters in relation to Mr Morton. Given the advice the letter would be as follows –
Dear Mr Morton
I write to acknowledge receipt of your Email dated 5th June 2013 and note your continued oversight and scrutiny of the matters you referenced allied to the AKA Report and specifically Service Provider 3. I can confirm that these matters are subject to due process and that we are seeking to bring matters to a conclusion.
Yours Sincerely
Robert Vickers
Graham, such a response is blunt but captures the advice provided, what do you think.
Rob
From: Hodkinson, Graham R. Sent: 18 June 2013 12:52 To: Vickers, Rob Subject: RE: Financial Liability
I would refer to continued interest as a citizen rather than scrutiny/oversight as below :
Dear Mr Morton
I write to acknowledge receipt of your Email dated 5th June 2013. Thank you for taking the time to write, setting out your views in relation to matters relating to a former care provider. I note your continued interest as a concerned citizen into the matters you referenced allied to the AKA Report and specifically Service Provider 3. I can confirm at this stage that these matters are subject to due process and that we are seeking to bring matters to a conclusion.
Yours Sincerely
Robert Vickers
Graham Hodkinson Director of Adult Social Services Five ways to add years to your life: Connect • Be Active • Take Notice • Keep Learning • Give
Wirral Council Please save paper and only print out what is necessary
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What were the top 10 most viewed videos on this blog’s Youtube channel in 2015?
Cllr Phil Davies at a Cabinet meeting (which makes the list at number 10)
I never expected when I was young, I would end up running a TV channel (albeit only a Youtube channel). So it’s time for a new feature on this blog looking back at the most viewed videos of 2015.
Hopefully in 2016 I will record even better videos than the ones so far. This list is not based on views but watch time (that is how many hours each video has been viewed). I’ll leave a brief comment below as to what each video is about and why it became popular.
1. Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 1
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The annual budget meeting of local councils are known for being the time at which each political party sets what it would do if they were in charge after the elections. This video isn’t popular really for those reasons though.
A councillor called Jake Morrison took exception to a cut to a domestic violence grant to a local charity. The meeting had to be adjourned for a short while. This was because neither the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Erica Kemp nor Mayor Joe Anderson appeared to know how to deal with this sort of sustained objection by a councillor (other than to adjourn the meeting).
The dramatic scenes are towards the end of this clip, which ends when the meeting was adjourned. Words were had behind the scenes during the adjournment.
2. Liverpool City Council 8th April 2015 Part 1 Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors
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3. Liverpool City Council public meeting 11th November 2015 Part 2 of 6
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Another more recent meeting of Liverpool City Council also makes the top ten list. This time it was a notice of motion (the earlier few minutes of the notice of motion can be viewed in part 1) about another green space issue (which was to do with Liverpool City Council plans for Beechley Stables, Calder Kids and the Miniature Railway). This was the most well attended meeting of Liverpool City Council I’ve seen by members of the public.
4. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 1 of 4
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To more local political issues than those across the River Mersey, again just before the 2015 elections, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held a very heated public consultation meeting in Saughall Massie. Hundreds of people turned up to the meeting but couldn’t get in, which may in part explain the high viewing figures on this video.
5. Liverpool City Council 16th September 2015 Part 1 of 6
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Indeed on this topic, as recently as the 22nd December 2015, Mayor Anderson (who had just been made Chair of the Combined Authority) refused to answer a question on this topic asked by a member of the public at a public meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
6. Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee 23rd November 2015
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Finally in 6th place is the first Wirral Council meeting, normally the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee attracts little interest, however the facial expressions of its chair during this meeting attracted many comments and more views of the video of the meeting.
7. Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 2
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Liverpool City Council makes its final entry in the top ten list, with what happened at the Budget meeting after the adjournment (for what happened before the adjournment see the video at number one).
8. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 2 of 4
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This is part 2 of the public consultation meeting of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held in Saughall Massie on a proposed fire station in Saughall Massie (part 1 makes this list at number 4).
9. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 3 of 4
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Part 3 of the public consultation meeting of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held in Saughall Massie on a proposed fire station in Saughall Massie (part 1 makes this list at number 4 and part 2 at number 8).
10. Cabinet Wirral Council 12th March 2015
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Finally, a Wirral Council Cabinet meeting makes the last in this list. In an unusual change of venue it was held at Birkenhead Town Hall.
I can’t remember (nine months later) anything particular that was controversial discussed at this meeting a few weeks before the May elections. The only high-profile issues discussed and decided at this meeting were the "Master Plan Principles" for Birkenhead Town Centre, the outcome of consultation about Pensby High Schools and the nomination for Civic Mayor/Deputy Civic Mayor.
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EXCLUSIVE: Dan Stephens (Chief Fire Officer) states altered plans for Saughall Massie Fire Station will be submitted “either this month or early January [2016]”
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Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority meeting 17th December 2015 L to R Treasurer, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan, Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens, Chair Cllr Dave Hanratty
At a meeting of councillors, on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority held on the 17th of December 2015, Dan Stephens (Chief Fire Officer), gave an update on the progress of plans for a new fire station at Saughall Massie. You can read his report on this matter on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority’s website.
Dan Stephens said, “Paragraphs twenty-one to thirty on pages sixteen to eighteen provide an update on the Saughall Massie merger.
A pre-application for advice has been submitted to Wirral Borough Council on the 8th October and a planning meeting was held with planning officers from Wirral on the 4th of November.
Following on from this meeting a letter from Wirral planning officers was sent to the agents acting on behalf of the Authority, but unfortunately was given to a Wirral councillor beforehand.
That letter was subsequently passed on to the Liverpool Echo and the Wirral Globe who ran a story quoting sections of the letter. Clearly that was before we’d had sight of that.
I’ve since written to the Head of Regeneration and Planning at Wirral raising a number of issues that relate to that, and they are outlined within paragraphs twenty-six. Paragraph twenty-seven details the position over the medium pressure gas main which runs under the land.
Following on from the planning advice, the size of the station and the design that we would intend to submit a planning application on, has been significantly reduced to the point where the medium pressure gas main would no longer run underneath the main building, thus negating the requirement for it to be rerouted.
It is our intention to submit a full planning application, taking into account the pre-planning advice that we’ve received from Wirral at some point either this month or early January which would allow for consideration by the Planning Committee at some point next year possibly in April.
Paragraph thirty makes the point that any decision by Wirral to grant planning permission will almost certainly be referred to the Secretary of State. I need to make it clear to Members at this point that if planning permission is not granted, then the inevitable consequence will be the outright closure of West Kirby fire station with the resulting increase in response times.”
The reference to Secretary of State above refers to a government minister (however generally such decisions although taken in a minister’s name are decided by civil servants following the policy the minister decides upon).
The Chair of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority referred later in the meeting to his desire that the press would write "good news" stories about Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. The above story is either good or bad news depending on your political viewpoint.
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A farce at Wirral Council’s public question time (Act 1, Scene 1) No microphone, silent musical chairs & no answers
Public Question Time (Wirral Council) 15th December 2015 Mrs Nowell asking a question to Cllr Adrian Jones about a fire station at Saughall Massie
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Wirral Council Council meeting on the 15th December 2015 starting at public question time agenda item
Public question time at Wirral Council’s meeting on the evening of the 15th December 2015 was a farce. You can watch this in the video above. I’d better declare an interest as I was one of the two asking questions of Cllr Adrian Jones.
The first member of the public to ask a question was Mrs Nowell (yes it’s Christmas although I’m not making that name up), she was ushered to a chair by Patrick Sebastian to ask her question.
However there was no microphone there.
Cllr Phil Davies (giving up his chair for the second time this week having earlier this week given up the Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority) then gave up his chair for Mrs. Nowell. So in the Town Hall version of musical chairs (but without any music) everyone got a chair except Cllr Phil Davies who was left standing next to Mr. Tour.
The seasonal fun however did not end there!
Mrs Nowell got about four words into her question to be interrupted by Cllr Ann McLachlan sitting to her left who then apologised.
Mrs Nowell resumed her question which was,
"Given the substantial local opposition to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s proposal to build a fire station directly adjacent to sheltered accommodation, will Wirral Borough Council Members honour their commitment, as set out in the 2020 Vision, to "empower locally" and attempt to gain a "deep and meaningful understanding of what local people want" by agreeing to "detailed engagement and conversation with local people" prior to gifting, releasing or selling the only significant publicly amenable green-space in Saughall Massie?"
The Mayor thanked her for the question.
Cllr Adrian Jones then replied as follows, "Mayor, it is customary to have some advance notice of the question! I’ve had no advance notice and therefore I’m very happy to give a written reply!"
I will point out at this stage that unlike myself Mrs Nowell submitted her question about a month before the meeting (which reminds me of the following famous poem I have rewritten for this):
Though the mills of Wirral Council grind slowly;
Yet they grind exceeding slowly;
Though with patience Cllr Adrian Jones stands waiting for the question,
Waiting for the question which he has done for a whole month,
He is never sent it.
The Mayor looked at Mrs Nowell and asked, "Is that OK for a written reply?"
She answered, "That means I don’t get to ask another question. I did email the question in plenty of time."
The Mayor then said to Cllr Adrian Jones, "Cllr Adrian Jones is it possible to give a reply? I understand that you don’t know the full details."
Cllr Adrian Jones answered, "Mr Mayor, I’ve had no advance notice of this, therefore I’ve done no research on this occasion, I’d be very happy to give a written reply but I think in any case it’ll have gone to planning, therefore it will be dealt with fully at that particular point."
The Mayor thanked Mrs Nowell for her question.
As Cllr Jones had now answered she asked the following supplementary, "Why was Cllr Blakeley not allowed to respond to Dan Stephens at the Regeneration meeting?"
The Mayor said, "Cllr Adrian Jones is the Cabinet Member for this particular question to be addressed to."
Cllr Adrian Jones said, "Had I been given some advance notice, I would have done something about it, I’m terribly sorry but we do have a system here as a courtesy, if you want to ask a question."
A councillor heckled, "But she’s done that!"
Surjit Tour said, "I’ll need to look into why the question and the issue about the question why it didn’t make its way to Cllr Jones and I’ll respond to that for that as regards to the process."
Cllr Jeff Green said, "Mr Mayor, we do have the Chair of the relevant select Committee, maybe Cllr Sullivan could answer that?"
Surjit Tour replied, "The appropriate form for a further question to come to Council around that advance notice of it, I appreciate the expectation was that it would be appropriate for a question to be asked in the circumstances."
The Mayor said, "OK, there seems to have been some sort of delay in the question, advance notice being got to the Cabinet Member or the Chair so we need to give them the opportunity to research that and give you a written response."
Mrs Nowell replied, "My second question, I don’t have to give notice of that you see!"
The Mayor said, "It’s called a supplementary question and unfortunately you’re unable to ask the supplementary because the substantive question hasn’t been answered and replied to."
Cllr Chris Blakeley said, "Can I ask, as I know Mrs Nowell submitted the question some time ago, why hasn’t it found its way to the Cabinet Member for a response to that?"
Surjit Tour replied, " I’ll have to look into to understand exactly what has happened."
Mrs Nowell said, "I sent the question to you."
There was laughter from councillors at this point.
Surjit Tour continued, "Yes, that’s agreed, apologies for not following the process, I just need to understand why Cllr Adrian Jones didn’t get the question and then I’ll report back to Council after that moment."
Cllr Adrian Jones said, "Mr Mayor I would be very happy to deal with this question at the next meeting and it goes without saying that I promise to do everything within my power to protect Council." There was more laughter at this point.
The Mayor said, "Under those circumstances, could I ask that the question be asked at the next Council meeting? Where opportunity will have been given to the.. Adrian Jones?"
Cllr Chris Blakeley added, "It may well be too late Mr Mayor!"
The Mayor finished by saying "We’re going to have to leave it to the written reply then I’m sorry."
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