What did the Mayor of Wirral put in his letter to councillors asking them to behave better?
What did the Mayor of Wirral put in his letter to councillors asking them to behave better?
BeeQuiet and Beehave from Stoppit and Tidy Up
When I was younger there was a cartoon called Stoppit and Tidy Up (yes I realise I’m showing my age) narrated by the late Terry Wogan.
In it were two characters called BeeQuiet and BeeHave (hence the picture above).
Prior to last night’s Council meeting, a copy of a letter from the Mayor was put on all 66 councillors’ desks, then orders from above meant the copies were gathered back in again, only to be handed out again later.
At the actual meeting itself Labour councillors voted to reduce the scrutiny function at Wirral Council and reduce the number of scrutiny committees from four to three. This was opposed by the Green councillor, Lib Dem councillors and Conservative councillors.
However the letter from the Mayor to councillors is a "BeeQuiet and BeeHave" letter.
There were also speeches from each of the three party leaders about the EU Referendum.
Video of the first part of the Council meeting is included below the letter, I will add the second part once it has uploaded.
letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 1 of 2letter from Mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett to councillors on Wirral Council 27th June 2016 Page 2 of 2
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Council (Wirral Council) 27th June 2016 EU Referendum and changes to scrutiny Part 1 of 2
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How much did taxis cost for councillors at Wirral Council through a contract with Eye Cab Limited between September 2014 and March 2015?
How much did taxis cost for councillors at Wirral Council through a contract with Eye Cab Limited between September 2014 and March 2015?
Eye Cab Ltd taxi invoice Wirral Council October 2014
During the 2014/15 audit I requested the contract between Wirral Council and Eye Cab Limited for LOT 4 (councillors taxis) called the Passenger Transport Contract. This is what the contract states about the invoices (pages 22 to 23):
2.3.8 Invoicing
Invoices should be submitted once a month for all journeys undertaken by Councillors for official business only. There will be no payment in advance for journeys. The invoice should contain the following information
Journey collection and arrival destinations
Date and time of journey
Name of the Councillor ordering the journey
Invoices will be paid at the price agreed between Wirral Council and the Contractor at the time of award of contract. If an overcharge is identified on an invoice a credit note will be required from the Contractor or a deduction for the amount owed clearly identified on the following invoice.
Invoices should be forwarded to:-
Carl Thompson
Legal and Member Services
Wallasey Town Hall
Brighton Street
CH44 8ED
The invoices supplied don’t contain the times of journeys, or the journey collection or arrival destinations!
Wirral Council have also tried to black things out on these invoices (incompetently I might add with an image mask) because they class them as personal data.
All the underlying images of the invoices are still there as they’re using an image mask (that is the file contains two images that of the underlying invoice and over the top a further image used as a mask to black certain bits out).
Let’s start with the junior officer name at Wirral Council they blacked out which is Thompson, Carl S. [carlthompson@wirral.gov.uk].
Here’s the mobile phone number from this invoice: 0798 944 6652. I might point out that Eye Cab Limited publish this mobile phone number on their Facebook group page anyway.
Below are the totals by councillor for each invoice. The below are just journeys through this contract. It is possible for councillors to pay for taxi journeys themselves, then claim the money back from Wirral Council, in which case those figures would not be included below.
Invoice dated 27th September 2014 (LOT4/2)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Pat Hackett £5.20 Ron Abbey £43.40 Steve Niblock £9.40 Moira McLaughlin £42.80 Irene Williams £8.00
Invoice dated 4th October 2014 (LOT4/2)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Ron Abbey £56.60 Moira McLaughlin £16.00 Bill Davies £6.60
Invoice dated 4th October 2014 (LOT4/3)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Ron Abbey £34.00 Moira McLaughlin £31.00
Invoice dated 11th October 2014 (LOT4/5)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £26.80 Ron Abbey £71.60 Bill Davies £6.60
Invoice dated 18th October 2014 (LOT4/6)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £26.80 Pat Hackett £5.20 Ron Abbey £51.00
Invoice dated 24th October 2014 (LOT4/7)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Ron Abbey £76.00 Moira McLaughlin £31.50 Bill Davies £6.60 Muspratt £10.80 Pat Hackett £5.20
Invoice dated 31st October 2014 (LOT4/8)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Pat Hackett £5.20 Moira McLaughlin £18.80 Ron Abbey £71.00 *for two journeys includes waiting time of 5 minutes (£1) and 10 minutes (£2)
Invoice dated 8th November 2014 (LOT4/9)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Pat Hackett £15.60 Muspratt £12.20 Moira McLaughlin £33.40 Bill Davies £6.60 Niblock/Davies £10.80 Irene Williams £8.00 Ron Abbey £51.00
Invoice dated 15th November 2014 (LOT4/10)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Irene Williams £17.40 Pat Hackett £19.40 Steve Niblock £28.20 Bill Davies (down on invoice as W J Davies) £13.20 Moira McLaughlin £9.40
Invoice dated 22nd November 2014 (LOT4/11)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Steve Niblock (down on invoice as S. Niblock) £28.20 Moira McLaughlin £40.40 Bill Davies (down on invoice as W J Davies) £6.60 Irene Williams (down on invoice as I. Williams) £8.00 Muspratt (down on invoice as C. Muspratt) £12.20 Pat Hackett (down on invoice as P. Hackett) £11.80
Invoice dated 29th November 2014 (LOT4/12)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £18.80
Invoice dated 6th December 2014 (LOT4/13)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £9.40 Steve Niblock (down on invoice as Steve Nibkock) £37.60
Invoice dated 13th December 2014 (LOT4/14)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Steve Niblock (down on invoice as Steve Nibkock) £49.80 Moira McLaughlin (down on invoice as Moira McGlaughlin) £18.80 Bill Davies £13.20 Muspratt (down on invoice as Clr Muspratt) £12.20 Taxi Share £12.20
Invoice dated 20th December 2014 (LOT4/15)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Steve Niblock (down on invoice as Steve Nibkock) £59.20 Muspratt (down on invoice as Clr Muspratt) £12.20 Denise Realey (down on invoice as Denise Reaty) £8.00 Pat Hackett £11.80 Moira McLaughlin (down on invoice as Moira McGlaughlin) £10.80 Irene Williams £8.00
Invoice dated 10th January 2015 (LOT4/16)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Pat Hackett (down on invoice as P. Hackett) £11.80 Moira McLaughlin £79.40 Bill Davies £16.00
Invoice dated 17th January 2015 (LOT4/17)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Pat Hackett (down on invoice as P.Hackett) £9.40 Moira McLaughlin £28.20
Invoice dated 24th January 2015 (LOT4/18)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Irene Williams £8.00 Bill Davies £6.60 Moira McLaughlin £9.40 Niblock/Davies £12.20
Invoice dated 31st January 2015 (LOT4/19)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Steve Niblock £10.80 Bill Davies £6.60 Moira McLaughlin £28.20
Invoice dated 7th February 2015 (LOT4/20)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Steve Niblock £31.00 Moira McLaughlin £73.80 Williams/Muspratt £12.20 Irene Williams £9.40
Invoice dated 14th February 2015 (LOT4/21)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £9.40 Steve Niblock £9.40
Invoice dated 21st February 2015 (LOT4/22)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Bill Davies £19.80 Irene Williams £8.00 Moira McLaughlin £9.40 Davies/McLaughlin £10.80
Invoice dated 28th February 2015 (LOT4/23)>
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £18.80 Bill Davies £18.40
Invoice dated 7th March 2015 (LOT4/24)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £59.20
Invoice dated 21st March 2015 (LOT4/25)
CouncillorTotal Amount
Moira McLaughlin £28.20 Bill Davies £13.20 Irene Williams £8.00 Niblock/Davies £12.20
Cllr Muspratt (does not include Williams/Muspratt) £10.80 + £12.20 + £12.20 + £12.20 + £12.20 = £59.60
Cllrs Niblock/Davies (note not included in Cllr Steve Niblock’s amounts above and there are three councillors with the surname Davies) £10.80 + £12.20 = £23.00
Taxi Share£12.20
Cllr Denise Realey£8.00
Cllrs Williams/Muspratt (note not included in Cllr Muspratt’s amounts above and there are three councillors with the surname Williams) £12.20
Cllrs Davies/McLaughlin (note not included in Cllr McLaughlin’s amounts above and there are three councillors with the surname Davies) £10.80
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Who are the 20 Pledge Champions and how has Wirral Council’s Cabinet changed?
Who are the 20 Pledge Champions and how has Wirral Council’s Cabinet changed?
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Wirral Council’s Cabinet meeting held on the 5th November 2015
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 5th November 2015 Councillor Phil Davies asks Surjit Tour to introduce the report on Cabinet portfolios and Pledge Champions
Yesterday’s Cabinet meeting agreed changes to which area each councillor on the Cabinet covers and some minor changes to how each Cabinet portfolio’s description.
Instead of two Deputy Leaders at Wirral Council (Cllr George Davies and Cllr Ann McLachlan) there will now be only one Deputy Leader (Cllr Ann McLachlan).
I thought it would be useful to explicitly state each Cabinet’s former title and its new title (along with the councillor that now holds that role). Old titles are in italics. New titles are in bold. None of the councillors on the Cabinet have changed.
Councillor Phil DaviesLeader of the CouncilFinance Leader of the CouncilStrategic and Policy Oversight
Councillor Ann McLachlanJoint Deputy Leader of the CouncilGovernance, Commissioning and Improvement Deputy Leader of the CouncilTransformation and Improvement
Councillor George DaviesJoint Deputy Leader of the CouncilNeighbourhoods, Housing and Engagement Housing and Communities
Councillor Adrian JonesSupport Services Resources: Finance, Assets and Technology
Councillor Christine JonesAdult Social Care and Public Health Adult Care and Public Health
Councillor Tony SmithChildren and Family Services Children and Families
Councillor Pat HackettEconomy Business and Tourism
Councillor Bernie MooneyEnvironment and Sustainability Environmental Protection
Councillor Chris MeadenLeisure, Sport and Culture Leisure and Culture
Councillor Stuart WhittinghamHighways and Transport Transport, Technology Strategy and Infrastructure
In addition to those changes, Cabinet will now meet on Monday mornings at 10.00am starting in 2016.
Also decided were a number of Pledge Champions. The role of each Pledge Champion will be to make sure there is action on a specific pledge in the Wirral Council Plan: a 2020 Vision (formerly called the Corporate Plan).
Twenty councillors (all from the ruling Labour Group) were appointed as Pledge Champions (a role that Cllr Phil Davies pointed out at the Cabinet meeting doesn’t mean these councillors receive increased allowances). A list of who the Pledge Champions are (along with which pledge they are the champion for) was handed out at the Cabinet meeting and is below (but without the bullet points next to each pledge which was on the original). The pledges are in three broad themes of people, business and the environment.
20 PLEDGES
PEOPLE
CHAMPION
Older People Live Well
Irene Williams
Children are ready for school
Walter Smith
Young people are ready for work and adulthood
Phillip Brightmore
Vulnerable children reach their full potential
Treena Johnson
Reduce child and family poverty
Angela Davies
People with disabilities live independently
Rob Gregson
Zero tolerance to domestic violence
Janette Williamson
BUSINESS
Greater job opportunities in Wirral
Joe Walsh
Workforce skills match business needs
Jean Stapleton
Increase inward investment
Matthew Patrick
Thriving small businesses
Denise Realey
Vibrant Tourism economy
Matt Daniel
Transport & Technology infrastructure fit for the future
Ron Abbey
Assets and buildings are fit for purpose for Wirral’s businesses
Denise Roberts
ENVIRONMENT
Leisure and cultural opportunities for all
Christine Spriggs
Wirral residents live healthier lives
Steve Foulkes
Community services are joined up and accessible
Christina Muspratt
Good quality housing that meets the needs of residents
Steve Niblock
Wirral’s Neighbourhood are safe
Brian Kenny
Attractive local environment for Wirral residents
John Salter
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Personally I thought nothing further would happen on this story until the September meeting of Wirral Council’s Highways and Traffic Representation Panel. However, since writing that story Wirral Council have issued a press release that’s titled either “Resort parking plans quashed” (when it’s linked to from their homepage) or “Wirral Council leader says no to plans to charge for parking in New Brighton” from the press release.
There is a very interesting quote in the press release from Councillor Phil Davies that states “Cllr Pat Hackett, our Cabinet Member for the Economy, has been meeting with traders and business leaders in New Brighton to discuss the proposals, and they made a powerful case for not proceeding. When we looked at the plan and the possible impact on parking and tourism across the whole of the resort, I made the decision to stop the proposal”.
On the 22nd December 2014, I wrote on this blog When Wirral Council introduces car parking charges at Fort Perch Rock, will 3 hours free parking end for a further 423 New Brighton spaces? (later updating it this year by including the public notice). I published the three pages of Wirral Council’s lease for the Marine Point development at New Brighton that detailed if Wirral Council introduced car parking charges at Fort Perch Rock car park, charges could be introduced at the supermarket car park and the “health and fitness” car park (originally Bubbles was going to be a gym but they couldn’t find a company that wanted to run it as a gym). This was plenty of time before the 2015/16 budget for Wirral Council was agreed on the 24th February 2015 for councillors to change their mind.
An article by Liam Murphy in the Liverpool Echo states “But Promenade Estates, who manage part of the successfully regenerated resort, say if the charges are imposed they would have little choice but to follow suit. This would mean parking charges on the car parks serving Morrisons, The Light Cinema, Bubbles play centre and other businesses.”
So it wasn’t just a “possible impact” but a “probable impact”. On the 9th December 2014, Councillor Phil Davies proposed and voted for this resolution at a Cabinet meeting, that was seconded and agreed by all councillors including Cllr Pat Hackett:
“We also feel that it is appropriate to introduce a modest charge for parking at Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton up to 6 p.m.”
“67.We also feel it is appropriate that a modest charge for parking up to 6 pm. at Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton should be introduced.”
So Councillor Phil Davies U-turned on his own policy! However it begs the following question, if the reason for stopping the proposal is the impact on parking across the resort (as stated in the quote from Cllr Phil Davies), then why wasn’t he told about the impact on parking elsewhere in Marine Point by his own officers before Cabinet made the decision? As you can see below from the first page of the lease that has the clauses about parking, Wirral Council is the landlord for the Marine Point development.
New Brighton Marine Point lease Wirral Council Neptune Wirral Ltd cover page
“I confirm that the Authority no longer retains DHA Communications and the use of their services ceased as of March 31st 2015. The Authority recognises that some parts of its relationship with DHA Communications was not fully formalised in some time periods. The Authority has reviewed its practices in relation to this type of contract and has now put in additional measures and monitoring in place to ensure that an accurate audit trail is retained.”
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Labour councillors on Wirral Council’s Cabinet agree to consultation on master plan for Birkenhead
Labour councillors on Wirral Council’s Cabinet agree to consultation on master plan for Birkenhead
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You can watch what happened at the Cabinet meeting on the 12th March 2015 above.
Wirral Council Cabinet meeting at Birkenhead Town Hall Thursday 12th March 2015 Left to right Surjit Tour, Cllr Phil Davies and Joe Blott
Wirral Council’s Cabinet met at a different venue to usual (Birkenhead Town Hall). At the start, Councillor Phil Davies wanted to show people the trophy that Wirral Council had received for being “Most Improved Council”. You can see a photo of when they received the award on the Local Government Chronicle website, but below is a photo of Cllr Phil Davies showing people the award at the Cabinet meeting.
Councillor Phil Davies shows off the Local Government Chronicle award Wirral Council received for being most improved council 12th March 2015
Cllr Pat Hackett talks at a Cabinet meeting about the master plan for Birkenhead Town Centre
Councillor Pat Hackett spoke to the report recommending a consultation on the masterplan for Birkenhead Town Centre. He referred to an “improved market” and the stage one lockout agreement that the Council had entered into with Neptune Developments Limited. The detail of the proposals were covered in an earlier blog post. Cabinet agreed that Neptune Development Limited were to consult with the public (as well as staff who work at Europa Pools) on the masterplan.
Kevin Adderley pointed out that the Mars Pension Fund had recently advertised the Grange and Pyramids shopping centre in Birkenhead as being for sale. The recommendation to have a consultation was agreed by Cabinet.
