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Expense claim forms for Councillor Pat Williams 2013 to 2014

Councillor Pat Williams is a Liberal Democrat councillor for Oxton ward and is Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group. Her expenses claims are for attendance at meetings of Council, the Corporate Parenting Group, the Licensing Act 2003 Subcommittee, the Attainment Subcommittee, the Wirral Awards Working Party, the Oxton Conservation Society, the Licensing Panel, the Youth Parliament, the Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee, the Birkenhead Constituency Committee, the Community First Funding Panel (part of the Birkenhead Constituency Committee), meetings with officers, an Employment and Appointments Committee appointments panel, training, the Improvement Board and various briefings.

She is the last in the series of councillors expenses forms for 2013-14. I did also ask for the underlying information supporting these expenses claims such as petrol receipts, parking receipts, tunnel toll receipts, taxi receipts, train tickets, hotel expenses et cetera. Although I made this request as part of the audit back in August I’m still waiting! However for the twenty or so councillors one petrol receipt was provided!

In some cases I have not been given information for the correct financial year. It is certainly something I need to follow-up with officers, who blame it on Wirral Council’s HR department supplying incorrect information or not supplying it when requested!

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 1

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 2

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 3

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 4

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 5

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 6

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Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 8

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 9

Cllr Pat Williams expenses claim 2013 2014 page 10

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Expense claim forms for Councillor Harry Smith 2013 to 2014

Councillor Harry Smith is a Labour Party councillor for Bidston & St. James ward. During the period these expense claims cover, he was Cabinet Member for what is now called Highways and Transportation but was previously called Streetscene and Transport.

His expense claim forms cover his work as a Cabinet Member (referred to by the initials CM on the forms), work on Wirral Council’s Pensions Committee (which manage the Merseyside Pension Fund worth billions of pounds), conferences & training, housing association meetings (where he was a Wirral Council representative), an employment appeal (the trade unions are still in dispute over this being decided by officers now and not councillors and this looks like it may have been one of the last decided by councillors), the Beechwood Joint Management Committee (on which he was a Wirral Council representative), full Council meetings, a Cabinet “Away Day” in July 2013 with the Chief Executive Graham Burgess, a meeting of the North Birkenhead Development Trust (which runs the St James Centre in Laird Street), a leadership program meeting in Acre Lane, a site visit in his role as Cabinet Member and a meeting at the Floral Pavilion about the flooding in New Brighton.

The sixteen pages of claim forms covering this period are below.

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 1

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 2

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 3

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 4

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 5

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 6

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 7

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 8

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 9

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 10

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 11

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 12

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 13

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 14

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 15

Cllr Harry Smith expenses claim 2013 2014 page 16

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Expense claim forms for Councillor Cherry Povall, JP 2013 to 2014

Councillor Cherry Povall is a Conservative Party councillor for Clatterbridge ward and is also a magistrate (also known as Justice of the Peace). However these expense claims are to do with her work as a councillor and not as a magistrate. It does give me the opportunity to ask, will any of her expenses claims be ruled “out-of-order” or is the bench “above reproach”?

Will the “court of public opinion” approve of Councillor Cherry Povall’s expenses or criticise her? Well that’s enough of the legal jokes! Her expenses claims are for going to pension conferences, more pensions meetings, Council meetings, foster panels, training for people on foster panels, overview and scrutiny committee meetings and the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee.

However not all her expenses claims were allowed! In March 2014, she tried to claim £6.40 for travel (16 miles ~ 40p/mile) to a dedication to HMS Birkenhead (which from leaving her house to coming back she spent three and a half hours at). This £6.40 claim was rejected. Pictures (which include former Mayor Councillor Dave Mitchell) and a write-up about the new memorial to HMS Birkenhead can be read on The Sixth Form College (Birkenhead)’s website as it was one of their students who designed it.

I presume as this wasn’t classed as an “approved duty” that this is why it was turned down (however presumably all councillors received an invite to the unveiling of the memorial).

Her expense claim forms are below (the rejected claim for travel expenses to the HMS Birkenhead memorial is on page eight).

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 1

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 2

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 3

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 4

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 5

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 6

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 7

Cllr Cherry Povall expenses claim page 8

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Expense claim forms for Councillor Phil Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 to 2014

Updated 22nd October 2014: A further page was provided for Councillor Phil Davies on the 17th October which is detailed here.

The next in this series of expenses claims is that for Councillor Phil Davies (a Labour councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere ward). As part of the 2013-14 audit I requested the underlying claim forms for these claims from councillors and other underlying financial information. Personally I think in the interests of openness and transparency these should be published on a monthly basis, although there is now no legal requirement on Wirral Council to publish anything other than annual totals once a year.

Councillors are paid these amounts through the payroll system at Wirral Council and certain details were redacted from each form before I was given copies. These are matters such as councillor’s signatures, car registration numbers and officer names/signatures.

I haven’t been given a list of what’s been redacted from each form, but I was told this information. The forms were given to me this morning alphabetically by councillor surname, so the second in this series (which started with another councillor called Davies, but not Phil but George) is Councillor Phil Davies.

These are for expenses claimed during the 2013-14 financial year (so should cover the period from the 1st April 2013 to the 31st March 2014). If anything it shows the public how busy Councillor Phil Davies has been in that year, however as Leader of the Council that’s to be expected.

I did also ask for the underlying financial information to support these claims forms such as receipts, but the person I originally made the request to is now on holiday and such paperwork has not been provided to me (yet). Who knows what will happen in the near future as the 30th September 2014 deadline fast approaches?

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 1

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 2

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 3

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 4

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 5

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 6

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 7

Cllr Phil Davies expense claim 2013 2014 page 8

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Expense claim forms for Councillor George Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 to 2014

Wirral Council councillors in addition to what they get paid for their official duties (called allowances), they also have an expenses system too. As part of the 2013-14 audit (as I have a legal right to) I requested the underlying claim forms for these claims and other related bits and pieces. Personally I think like the MP expenses issue, these in the interests of openness and transparency should be published on a monthly basis, although there is no legal requirement on Wirral Council to publish anything other than annual totals once a year.

Councillors are paid such amounts through the payroll system at Wirral Council and certain details have been redacted from each form before I was given copies. These are matters such as councillor’s signatures, car registration numbers and officer names/signatures.

I haven’t been given a list of what’s been redacted from each form, but I have been told this information. The forms were given to me this morning alphabetically by councillor surname, so the first in this series is Councillor George Davies (who is a Labour councillor for Claughton ward).

These are for expenses claimed during the 2013-14 financial year (so should cover the period from the 1st April 2013 to the 31st March 2014). If anything it shows the public how busy Councillor George Davies has been that year, ranging from his duties as a Cabinet Member, his work on the Pension Committee to other matters he is involved in.

I did also request the underlying financial information to support these claims forms such as receipts, but the guy I originally made the request to is on holiday and such paperwork has not been provided to me (yet). Who knows what will happen in the near future as the 30th September 2014 deadline fast approaches?

Updated 21/10/2014: A further four pages of Cllr George Davies’ expense claim forms were provided on the 17th October 2014.