Category: Wirral Council

Wirral Council’s Pensions Committee bans filming and public from public meeting on “health and safety grounds”

Wirral Council bans public from filming Pensions Committee on “health and safety” grounds.

Wirral Council bans filming and public from public meeting Bizarrely at the start of the Pension Committee all members of the public were asked to leave by the Chair (who seemed to conveniently forget that the public have a legal right to be there).

What followed was twenty minutes of discussion as to whether to allow filming at the meeting. Quite exactly what took place during that twenty minutes, I can only report based on the snippets heard as Cllr Harry Smith’s voice reverberated through the closed-door as he told the Committee how “upsetting” he found filming. Getting into his stride he used one of his favourite words “political” not just once but multiple times and said it should be banned because I was a member of a political party (untrue). He said he had no issue with anyone else filming who was “non-political” but then tried to say I am a member of the Liberal Democrats (which I’m not), then contradicting himself in the same sentence by referring to me as an independent. As Peter Cook put it once, “You may choose if you wish to believe a transparent tissue of odious lies, that streamed on and on ….. that is entirely a matter for you.”

When it was pointed out by another councillor that this was irrelevant to the issue of filming the meeting, Cllr Harry Smith just looked even more irate, seemingly unused to any councillor (or in fact anybody) having the temerity to tell him he was being irrelevant.

When the public returned Cllr Ann McLachlan read out a recommendation that at least from where I was sitting couldn’t be heard. Another councillor then tabled an amendment to “current Committee meeting” as it was subject to a review. Cllr Adrian Jones asked him to repeat what he’d said as he hadn’t heard it. He repeated it, Cllr George Davies shouted “current” at Cllr Adrian Jones followed by the Chair saying “at the moment”.

Despite separate votes being required for the amendment and resolution only one vote was taken, 8:5 on the amended resolution.

The Chair, Cllr Patricia Glasman then said, “So the resolution is carried, OK, so ladies and gentlemen, Mr and Mrs Brace, you may not film this meeting tonight on the basis that your equipment has not been…, it does actually say that you would have to have a health and safety agreement to use your equipment and that that’s because of errm a review, which is currently Council is looking into the issue of filming.”

John Brace, “Would it be ok if I filmed without the tripod, is that the issue?”

Chair, Cllr Patricia Glasman, “Errm, well the tripod is one of the issues, but no, we’ve had a resolution, asking you not to film the meeting.”

John Brace, “Can I have a copy of the resolution if possible?”

Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee 14th January 2012 Part 1

Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee 14th January 2012 Part 1 Labour councillors vote to ban filming again

Well, the Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee started with the Chair starting a discussion by the Committee over whether they should allow filming.

The Chair started speaking but the proceedings were interrupted by a serial heckler going by the name of Cllr Harry Smith (Labour), who after walking twice in both directions in front of the camera loudly shouted “Chuck them out” before storming out himself. The doors slammed loudly behind him, while an atmosphere of calm returned to the meeting with the Chair temporarily lost for words at Cllr Smith’s interruption.

Ironically, the meeting wasn’t being filmed while this was taking place, but for a rundown along with links to the Youtube videos of the three times this previously happened you can read Paul Cardin’s blog as each time is broadly similar with Labour councillors moaning about it the filming they thought was taking place (but wasn’t).

I also notice from Paul Cardin’s blog that one of those voting against filming at this Health and Wellbeing meeting (Cllr Bernie Moonie) was quoted at the last meeting as saying “just for this meeting”.

So who voted for and who voted against?

Against filming 4
Cllr Bernie Mooney (Labour)
Cllr Tony Norbury (Labour)
Cllr Denise Roberts (Labour)
Cllr Anita Leech (Labour)

For filming 4
Cllr Alan Brighouse (Lib Dem)
Cllr Eddie Boult (Conservative)
Cllr Mike Hornby (Conservative)
Brian Donaldson (Carer’s representative)

The Chair (Cllr Simon Mountney, Conservative) having abstained on the vote then decided to use his vote to vote with the Labour councillors.

During the discussion Cllr Bernie Mooney referred to the previous Planning Committee and how in her view there was no policy on the filming of meetings.

Cllr Mooney must have completely forgotten about voting for the Council policy entitled “Lights, Camera, Action” in December 2011, that the Standards Committee of 26th January 2011 resolved that “in the interests of openness and transparency it was decided that no further restrictions would be placed on the use of recording media in Council buildings.”.

As a footnote to the above at the last Council meeting, instead of settling the matter at the end of last year, Labour councillors insisted on calling for a review of filming meetings to the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee which next meets on 23rd January 2012, but sadly the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee’s agenda (all five items of it!) doesn’t include this review.

Personally I think the “review” is a “red herring” and as the next Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee after the one on the 23rd January is the 20th March, I have little option but to follow through on my letter of the 19th December 2012 and file for judicial review at the Administrative Court (High Courts of Justice) of Wirral Council’s decisions.

Richard Penn clears Dave Green following whistleblower’s allegations surrounding the Highways and Engineering Services Contract award to Colas

Richard Penn clears Dave Green following whistleblower’s allegations surrounding the Highways and Engineering Services Contract award to Colas

Yesterday I read the thirty-nine page report of Richard Penn about Dave Green and the reasons behind his suspension.

For anyone reading it, it doesn’t make much sense without reading the background documents first, so below is a list of two of the background documents I could find online and a link to the minutes of a meeting from 2010 at which one of the reports was discussed.

Highways and engineering services contract Award and Management (Report in the Public Interest) (Audit Commission) 8/6/12

Procurement follow up of Public Interest Disclosure Act disclosure (Audit Commission) 16/9/2010 and the minutes of the Audit and Risk Management Committee of 28th September 2010 that discussed it

The rest of the documents such as the Council’s Conflict of Interest Policy and Conflict of Interest Policy Procedure don’t seem to be on Wirral Council’s website although I did find the Equality Impact Assessment for the Conflict of Interest Policy which refers to the M15 Conflict of Interest Declaration Form and the annual Key Issues Exchange.

The Equality Impact Assessment from the 8th February 2008 states “following Audit advice employees are continually reminded of their obligations to declare any conflict of interest” which raises the point as to whether this was actually happening in practice.

When Dave Green realised there was a conflict of interest on 20th October 2008 if as an employee he was being “continually reminded of his obligations”, he would have stated this conflict of interest using the M15 form, rather than as stated in the report he “immediately sought advice from Simon Goacher regarding the potential for conflicts of interests” (which delayed the M15 form being submitted for three weeks which meant it was after the whistleblowers made their allegations about him).

Moving to the part of the report that states “Dave Green also commented on what he described as the inaccurate reporting of facts in the local press. The Council has done nothing to correct the incorrect reporting largely generated by the Council publishing and considering the wrong report at the July Council meeting.” and “Dave Green considered that it was absolutely unreasonable for the Council to allow such inaccurate reporting to continue and demonstrated a poor ‘duty of care’ to him as one of its employee.”

Certainly there was something in the Council’s press release in response to the Audit Commission report entitled “Council response to District Auditor’s report” dated 8th June 2012 that someone took exception to it as it’s been removed from Wirral Council’s website and was the press release that this Wirral Globe story was based on.

The part of the Council meeting referring to Dave Green’s suspension was unusually held in private without the press and public present see here, although the public interest report was discussed in public, it seems the Audit Commission report on Wirral Council’s website was replaced with a different version a week after the meeting was held.

Cabinet (Wirral Council) 20th December 2012 Part 1: Trade Unions Protest Over Budget Cuts Proposals

Wirral Council’s Cabinet meeting of the 20th December 2012 Part 1: Trade Unions Protest Over Budget Cuts Proposals, Joe Taylor (UNISON) criticises cuts proposals

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Prior to the Cabinet (which was rearranged from Committee Room 1 to the Civic Hall) there was a union protest outside the Town Hall and many of the hundreds of people stayed on for the meeting itself which lasted about an hour. When the Cabinet Members arrived they were booed.

No Cabinet Members declared any interests. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and Cllr Phil Davies asked the Interim Chief Executive Graham Burgess to talk about the proposals on the Council’s Budget from 2013 to 2016. Graham Burgess spoke for about five minutes about the issues.

Joe Taylor (the branch secretary of the local Wirral UNISON branch) then was asked to speak to the meeting. Before Mr. Taylor had even sat down, he received loud applause as well as whistling and cheering which continued even after he sat down. He started off by thanking Cllr Phil Davies for the opportunity to make a number of points. He said he would try to keep within the five minutes but not to hold him to that (he actually ended up speaking for eleven minutes).

He said after the Cabinet meeting of the 8th November the Labour Group had agreed to extend the consultation on the terms and conditions [of employment] which was welcomed, however he made it clear that UNISON was against any reduction in pay as a result of changed terms and conditions. He said it had been rumoured that the unions had agreed some savings, but that no savings had been agreed between the trade unions and Wirral Council.

Mr. Taylor said that during the ninety day consultation period they would work with the Authority [Wirral Council] to find alternatives. He said that they also welcomed the extension of the consultation on the voluntary redundancy scheme. He said that if Wirral Council did go for compulsory redundancies that UNISON and UNITE would ballot their members.

Joe Taylor then referred to the proposed senior management restructure and the budget consultation. He said they’d asked a national union officer to come down from London on the 16th January 2013 to go through the books so that the unions could come up with alternatives.

He said there should be no compulsory redundancies, but he said that the officer’s proposed savings “devastate services to the people of the Wirral”. Joe Taylor then said that the service losses would lead to job losses, that he didn’t want services to be slashed and asked the Labour Group to work with the trade unions and get something “viable for this Authority”. He told the Labour councillors “don’t smash the communities and the people who voted you in”.

The next items Mr. Taylor referred to were the special Scrutiny Committee meetings specifically the Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting [of the 5th December]. He said, “I was appalled, I was appalled and I was alarmed. I was alarmed on the basis that the person who came forward couldn’t quote some of the factual information that affects our members”, he went on to give three examples. The first job referred was a part-time receptionist which he claimed would lose out on £3,163 if the new terms and conditions were agreed which he said would equate to a 34% loss of pay. This prompted heckling from the audience.

The next job he referred to was an Emergency Duty Team Social Worker on £40,234, who would lose out on £8,098 if the revised terms and conditions were agreed followed by a part-time cleaner on £6,256 who he claimed would lose out on £4,175 under the revised terms and conditions. He said that those were the real facts that should be quoted and scrutinised by councillors and asked councillors to “delve into the detail”.

He said that if the revised terms and conditions were accepted that it would equate to a pay cut over the next three years. He next referred to the statement that changes to the essential car allowance in other authorities had caused a short disruption. He said, “If that’s the type of consultation that you study other authorities about car allowances and how much the disruption will be for the Authority, I can tell you now, we met with our Members, we’ve had six general meetings around the Borough and they were packed to the rafters. Packed to the rafters and they were quite clearly telling us they won’t use their cars. Social workers were saying they won’t use their cars.”

13:50

Planning Committee (Wirral Council) bans filming again

Labour ban filming again at Planning Committee (Wirral Council) 18th December 2012

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Planning Committee bans filming again on 6:5 vote.

Present:
Cllr Bernie Mooney (Chair)
Cllr Eddie Boult
Cllr Stuart Kelly
Cllr Brian Kenny
Cllr Denise Realey
Cllr Joe Walsh
Cllr Paul Hayes
Cllr Steve Foulkes
Cllr David Elderton

Planning Committee started late, due to a discussion between myself and Surjit Tour about whether to film the meeting. He tried to persuade me not to. Needless to say I didn’t agree and stuck to the NUJ Code of Conduct which states “At all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed”. The following notice of motion (agreed the evening before) was given as the rationale as to why the Planning Committee meeting of the 18th December 2012 should censor any filming. Personally I believe this breaches my article 10 rights on Freedom of expression.

ARTICLE 10
Freedom of expression
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

Despite the notice of motion (below) stating the complete opposite to what was agreed at Planning Committee, councillors refused to even bring up the notice of motion on the screen and read it before voting.

Proposed by Councillor Bill Davies
Seconded by Councillor Moira McLaughlin

Delete everything and replace with the following:

(1) Council notes that the Administration has not banned the public from being able to attend and film at meetings.

(2) The issue of filming is under review. The Acting Director of Law, Human Resources & Asset Management has been asked to look at how a balance can be struck between maintaining openness and transparency and addressing concerns among some members about what safeguards can be put in place on how video recordings might be used.

(3) Council notes that the wider issue of the Council streaming its committee meetings is being considered by the cross-party members Equipment Steering Group.

(4) Council asks for the outcome of the review to be presented to the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee for detailed consideration.

I discussed this with a Labour councillor after the meeting. He said that one of his councillors had tried to film their grandchildren’s nativity play at a school and been stopped by school staff. This guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office entitled “Data Protection Good Practice Note Taking Photographs in Schools” shows this was incorrect.

The same councillor also stated that if he took a photo of me and put it on a website, he could be accused of bullying under the Members Code of Conduct. I really don’t mind if people take a photo of me though, I’m not as camera shy as the Labour councillors are! He then went on to state they have more important things to think about like the 2013/2014 Budget.