UPDATED: Last day of 4-week Lyndale School closure consultation: request for consultation responses
UPDATED: Last day of 4-week Lyndale School closure consultation: request for consultation responses
Councillor Tony Smith at the Special Cabinet Meeting of 4th September 2014 to discuss Lyndale School L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith, Cllr Bernie Mooney, Lyndzay Roberts
UPDATED 19/11/2014 16:12 to include anonymised consultation response received.
First copy of a response to the consultation (he or she wishes to remain anonymous) is added here:
“I am writing in response to the consultation. As a Wirral resident, I believe that this school should remain open. I am not convinced that it will be in the best interests of the children of Lyndale or the other two schools for Lyndale to close. Further, I have not seen evidence that the independent consultants report was based on an in depth analysis of the children’s needs. The consultant appears to have spent little time with the school staff or parents. These children have really specialist needs and the Council should take into account that the most vulnerable children must be protected the most. This is a matter of humanity. The financial argument is not convincing so why close? ”
Today is the last day of the four-week consultation on closure of the Lyndale School from January 2016. The details are currently on Wirral Council’s website.
Shortly before Christmas on the 17th December 2014 Wirral Council’s Cabinet will meet to discuss (and probably) decide what to do next.
On the basis I’m sure I’ll get a similar response if I make a FOI request tomorrow for responses to the four-week consultation closing today, if you have responded to this consultation and would like me to publish your response (whether anonymously or not), please email me at john.brace@gmail.com.
I’ll do my best to publish consultation responses I do receive on this blog ahead of the Cabinet meeting on the 17th December 2014.
Wirral Council: It’s time for change on Lyndale, consultation and decision making
Wirral Council: It’s time for change on Lyndale, consultation and decision making
Councillor Tony Smith at the Special Cabinet Meeting of 4th September 2014 to discuss Lyndale School L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith, Cllr Bernie Mooney, Lyndzay Roberts
The special Cabinet meeting to discuss the future of Lyndale School is now down to meet in Committee Room 1 in Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe starting at 6.15pm. It’s a public meeting so anyone can attend. The agenda should be available around the 10th December. However many of the reports that will be on the agenda have already been published either as part of the consultation or for previous Cabinet meetings on this subject.
I’ve done a bit of thinking about the consultation, officer advice and councillor decision-making on the subject of disability issues ahead of Friday’s meeting of the Highway and Traffic Representation Panel.
The constitution of Wirral Council states that councillors have to take on board the responses to a consultation and officer advice when making decisions.
What used to happen was a consultation would be agreed. It would run for x weeks or xx weeks, then there’d be a further public meeting at which all the consultation responses were published and the matter discussed.
Now what seems to happen at Wirral Council is this (not just over Lyndale but other matters).
A consultation on whatever change or policy issue is held running from date x to date y.
Following the end of the consultation (date y) Wirral Council employees read through the consultation responses. They then pick out the bits out of the responses they want to and put them in a report. In fact, as the ideas expressed in this report won’t be attributed back to the consultation respondees in academia it would be classed as plagiarism.
Once they’ve cherry picked the bits of the consultation they want to respond to, they’ll include a summary of them in the report, but alter the responses by including a response from officers.
Often these responses will state how the people responding (although they raise valid points) are somehow wrong and the recommendation consulted on should just be agreed (by councillors).
Councillors never see the consultation responses, nor do the public. Some consultation responses people with publishing capabilities (for instance individual councillors or political parties) are published during the consultation.
So what eventually happens is politicians just see a one-sided report written by officers, with brief references to the consultation responses but with more in the report stating officer’s advice than the actual consultation responses.
Naturally anything inconvenient brought up in the consultation, or points raised that officers don’t have a clever answer to gets left out of the public report.
Those who responded to the consultation (if they’re lucky) turn up to the public meeting where this is decided. If by some minor miracle one of the people responding to the consultation actually gets permission to speak at the meeting from the Chair.
Usually they are told they can’t speak as Article 21 although signed up to by Wirral Council was never implemented in their constitution. Although people do have a legal right (in the Human Rights Act 1998 c. 42) to freedom of expression, they will be told they can’t speak either. In an authority that gets annoyed with the press for filming public meetings what do you expect?
In my opinion, it’s a terrible, terrible way to run local democracy and make decisions. It leads to widespread resentment of certain politicians (and Wirral Council employees) and makes people think it’s terribly unfair. Maybe it suits some people though.
It means you have a two tier system. Those with the education, resources and/or connections can get their voice heard on any issue they want. Everyone else (even if they’ve responded to a consultation) just gets lost in the crowd.
It’s something I find personally very wrong about Wirral Council democracy and needs to change as a matter of urgency.
Take both Liverpool City Council and Chester West and Chester as examples. In both cases people can table questions at certain public meetings and speak at public meetings even if they’re not councillors or employees of the organisation.
On Wirral, especially since the abolition of the Area Forums, the public seem to have been written out of the political process. OK they get a vote (or two votes next year), but that’s about it. In many places people know their vote won’t make a difference to the outcome leading to apathy.
The rest of the time (outside of elections) the public are politely ignored by politicians who know they only need to get a minimum of 42% of the votes of the people who do vote to get re-elected under the first past the post system. It’s led to a situation where senior Wirral Council officers and senior politicians have too much power and the checks and balances just aren’t even there or ain’t working.
When the checks and balances are used (such as call in) councillors are just accused of playing party politics for actually holding other politicians to account!
Nothing will change unless the people demand it. Even then the politicians will probably get excuses from the employees as to why changes can’t be made. Even the unions seem to be having a hard time.
I despair of Wirral Council politics at times, I really do! The fallout from what’s going on affects my workplace too. However it’s time to come up with a plan to bring about change and to carry it out. I know the press from a balance perspective aren’t really supposed to have an opinion on matters other than freedom of speech/freedom of expression/the media.
However it’s time to point out that although there are always the elections in May 2015 that the fundamental nature of how Wirral Council makes decisions is either broken, fundamentally flawed or being routinely abused by those with vested interests in maintaining their power base.
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Councillors met to discuss 3 areas of Future Council consultation (Youth and Play, Gitrell Court and West Kirby Marine Lake)
Councillors met to discuss 3 areas of Future Council consultation (Youth and Play, Gitrell Court and West Kirby Marine Lake)
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
Last night showed something that we’ve been promised for some time which is pre-decision scrutiny (of a sort). Now the Future Council consultation is over, the first of three overview and scrutiny committees met yesterday evening to discuss the proposed budget cuts in their area of responsibility.
Prior to this there had been a behind closed doors set of meetings among councillors, which explained why the public meeting itself was rather short.
The rather late reports (which included a Powerpoint presentation on the consultation results) concentrated on the following proposed budget cuts:
Youth and Play Service £450,000 cut closing 4 youth centres, reducing provision at the “hubs” from five evening a week to four, Play Schemes funding ceased, grant to Wirral Play Council stopped, Civil Award Scheme stopped and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme stopped. If chosen this would end play schemes in Beechwood, Gautby Road (in Bidston) and Leasowe Adventure Playground in Wallasey. These three playschemes cost Wirral Council £190,000 a year but benefit about 600 children.
The Wirral Play Council (a charity on the Wirral) runs play schemes including an annual event at Birkenhead Park attended by 3,000 children, which was discussed at the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee public meeting last week. People at that meeting were shown photos of the Mayor at this event in Birkenhead Park which I can’t show you because the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Cllr Tony Smith and Wirral Council officers decided to try to negotiate a broadcast media blackout of that public meeting and had I tried to film it, Surjit Tour would’ve advised Cllr Tony Smith to adjourn that meeting.
The detail of the effects of each proposal had been previously discussed behind closed doors by councillors who then produced a scrutiny panel report.
The other possible budget cuts involved Girtrell Court (a short break respite service for adults with disabilities of £385,000), a cut to the all age disability service of £600,000 (affecting Willow Tree (overnight short breaks for children with high-level learning and physical disabilities), Children with Disabilities Team, Transition Team and the Family Support Team) and West Kirby Marine Lake (a cut of £25,000 and the possible outsourcing to a third party although an alternative option is being looked at).
Certainly these were not popular proposals (especially considering the fuss kicked up over the play schemes proposal) cuts and in not all areas did councillors agree with officers. At one point the Chair felt that the cuts were just being fitted around the amounts that had to be saved. As the budget options cover £4 million out of £2.5 million of options, some won’t happen, however you can watch the video of the meeting below to see and hear what councillors and officers said.
I will upload clearer audio of the meeting at a later date, although I felt it was important to point out the above at this point. When the overview and scrutiny committees finish (the last one is scheduled for tomorrow night), their proposals will feed into a Cabinet meeting which will make a recommendation on the budget to Council. All councillors will then meet, debate, discuss and vote on the budget, which according to the new legislation now has to be done by each councillor individually voting on each budget proposal (due to a change in legislation earlier this year). This way when it comes to election time in May, the Wirral public can look up how certain councillors standing in the election voted on the issues that matter to them if they so wish.
There are however going to be sections of society lobbying hard to make sure the Labour administration (who decide where the cuts are) spares them from the effects of the cuts. It remains to be seen how easy it will be both for councillors and political parties to deal with the public relations effects of what is proposed. As was mentioned at the meeting yesterday evening, there are large petitions opposing some of the cuts proposed. Some petitions are large enough that the petition organisers will get the right to speak at the Council meeting at which these decisions are made. The papers for this public meeting can be read on Wirral Council’s website
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Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee Wirral Council 3rd November 2014 Part 1
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Marvin the Martian returns to talk about closure consultations involving Lyndale, fire stations (2) and libraries
Marvin the Martian returns to talk about closure consultations involving Lyndale, fire stations (2) and libraries
Marvin the Martian from Disney’s Looney Tunes
The below is a fictional interview with Marvin the Martian about Lyndale School. Marvin the Martian is trademarked to Warner Brothers Entertainment. Our legal team point out their trademark doesn’t actually cover its use on blogs but in case they try to argue this blog is an “entertainment service”, it isn’t, so no laughing! Yes I mean it, not even a smile! We also point out it’s not an infringing use of class 9 of this trademark as that refers to its use on goods rather than virtually.
If you are reading this from the UKIP party and are planning to leave a comment questioning the immigration status of Marvin the Martian or disagreeing that he should have any say whatsoever about British politics, we humbly point out that although is not British, he is a fictional character and figments to people’s imagination do not have to have permission to come here.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: The Martian High Command have asked me to survey the Wirral to try to understand its people and politics and write a report back but I find it all very confusing.
JOHN BRACE: Good luck with that! Even I don’t fully understand the Wirral people and its politics.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Well we have a few areas we are unsure of. Let’s start with Greasby.
JOHN BRACE: Yes, Greasby, I know where that is.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Well, we are very confused. We hear reports on your media of a consultation meeting in Greasby about fire stations, but people turned up but weren’t allowed to go to it? What sort of consultation on closure is that?
JOHN BRACE: I wasn’t there, I was covering a public meeting of Wirral Council at the time. Had I turned up I wouldn’t have been allowed in either as the place has to be able to be safely evacuated in case of a fire so has a set capacity. There is however a little irony there as it’s the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service who are doing the consultation. However the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have informed the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority before that not many people at all turn up to their other fire station closure consultation meetings. So maybe they’re not used to large numbers of people turning up to public meetings?
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Well don’t Wirral Council own the land in Greasby that has the library, the Children’s Centre and other well-loved buildings on? Haven’t they offered (subject to the outcome of the consultation, a further decision and planning permission) a lease?
JOHN BRACE: Yes it does and that’s the Chief Fire Officer’s currently preferred site for the new fire station if Upton & West Kirby close. Yes, they have offered them a lease (subject to the outcome of the consultation, a further decision and planning permission).
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So why do the people of Greasby have a problem with their library closing?
JOHN BRACE: It’s historical, see your historical files on Earth. The Labour government minister at the time requested a public inquiry into library closures in 2009 so Labour councillors and the Lib Dems councillors were forced into a U-turn. Wirral people seem to still remember that and libraries for a number of years after libraries became a sacred cow of Wirral politics. However Cllr Foulkes said in the recent past that libraries shouldn’t be spared from the cuts and scrutiny.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And what else is happening on libraries and children centres?
JOHN BRACE: Well on libraries there’s a proposal to reduce opening hours at certain libraries. The decision to consult on the closure of children’s centres has been “called in”, the committee met to consider the “call in” then got adjourned. The committee is planning to meet again on the 12th November 2014 at 6.00pm. However its Labour Chair Cllr Moira McLaughlin was cheered up by some news.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: What news would that be, a U-turn on closing the children’s centres?
JOHN BRACE: No, the news that Cllr Chris Blakeley (Conservative spokesperson) has left the call in committee and been replaced by a different Conservative councillor.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Why would she be pleased?
JOHN BRACE: They have a history of, well how do I put it as diplomatically as possible without taking sides, arguing passionately with each other in public?
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So let me get this straight, they had a public inquiry into Wirral’s library closures which had been driven through by the then Leader of the Council Cllr Steve Foulkes at the Floral Pavilion chaired by Sue Charteris?
JOHN BRACE: Yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Then a few years later Wirral Council made Cllr Foulkes Mayor in exactly the same room Mayor, also at the Floral Pavilion?
JOHN BRACE: Yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Wow. This Cllr Foulkes guy sounds interesting. However back to Greasby. Which political party has the three local councillors in Greasby, Frankby and Irby?
JOHN BRACE: The Conservatives.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And the MP in Wirral West?
JOHN BRACE: The Conservatives.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And political control of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority is in which party’s hands?
JOHN BRACE: Labour.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Ha, ha, ha. So Labour want to close a few fire stations in Wirral West to cause trouble?
JOHN BRACE: Labour will say they blame the Conservative/Lib Dem government or alternatively they’ll let the unions say roughly the same thing. However the unions have already gone on strike.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: I thought politicians weren’t allowed to be “party political”, however isn’t Esther McVey some type of government minister too?
JOHN BRACE: Yes. She’s currently the Minister for Employment so you can imagine how the public sector unions such as the Fire Brigades Union and other unions feel about that.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Isn’t she facing a General Election in about six months time in what is a marginal seat?
JOHN BRACE: Yes, the unions/Labour Party are already trying their best to replace her with the Labour candidate. See fracking and other issues.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: That’s enough about Greasby, libraries, children’s centres and Esther McVey though, what’s happening in Birkenhead?
JOHN BRACE: The Rt Hon Frank Field MP is telling people that antisocial behaviour is a bad idea.
JOHN BRACE: Don’t be silly! He’s doesn’t mean it like that! He doesn’t mean his own Labour Party! By the language used in press articles he’s referring to young people.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Ahh so the Rt Hon Frank Field MP isn’t picking on the disabled but he’s picking on young people, why do politicians always scapegoat young people? Isn’t Alison McGovern MP, MP for Wirral South in fact younger than you are?
JOHN BRACE: Now you’re making me feel old! Yes she is. Politicians scapegoat young people to play to their base. Politicians of all parties do it. Political parties have a history of having major political disagreements with their own party’s youth wing. See Lib Dems and tuition fees as a recent example of that. However the youth wing of political parties also represents the future of that party, so annoying them can be very short-term thinking.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And Alison McGovern is the MP where Lyndale School is?
JOHN BRACE: Yes. She’s MP for Wirral South, another marginal seat.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And as a Labour MP, if the Labour Cabinet decide to close Lyndale School before the election in May 2015 does that harm her chances of reelection next May?
JOHN BRACE: It would make it look (to some voters) if that happened like she had little influence over her own political party’s decision-making process (which isn’t entirely true but that would probably be how it would be spun in the press by her opponents).
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Ahh, but I thought officially the Labour Cabinet on Wirral Council had an “open mind” on the subject of closing Lyndale School?
JOHN BRACE: Please don’t get me started on that topic. There is a second consultation on it now, but I doubt Wirral Council would accept consultation responses from fictional characters.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So to sum up, there’s an election coming where everyone that can vote will get two votes, one for councillor, one for MP?
JOHN BRACE: Yes, “vote early and vote often (but no more than twice)” I could write if I was being slightly flippant!
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And in the lead up to elections you get election promises, vote for me and I’ll do this (or my party will do this)?
JOHN BRACE: Yes, even promises they know they can’t possibly keep after the election.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Are you implying party political candidates would deliberately lie about themselves and their own political party?
JOHN BRACE: I’d probably get sued or face an injunction if I answered that honestly! However you can’t libel a political party or a local council. Elections at their heart are a popularity contest and a battle for hearts and minds, so political parties will tell people what they think they want to hear.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Oh dear. So after the election a lot of people will be disappointed?
JOHN BRACE: They always are, before, during and after. Some of them have even given up on voting or being engaged in the political process.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: That’s sad really. Well I’ll put all this in my report to the Martian High Command. Thanks for the interview!
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The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014 (part 2)
The day democracy and freedom of the press died at Wirral Council: 28th October 2014 (part 2)
Councillor Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services) at a public meeting earlier this year L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services), Cllr Bernie Mooney and Lyndzay Roberts
There was one A4 page handed out to those present at the meeting which was about the Youth Voice Conference 2014. Obviously it would have been interesting to have on video politicians, officers and a young person’s response to these issues raised at the Youth Voice Conference, but considering the politically sensitive nature of some of these issues one can fully understand why there was an effort before the meeting began not to have it filmed, audio taped or photographed.
As one section of it mentions the media, I had better declare an interest in this as a member of the media. As well as politics I also write about video games, so I’d better declare that too. Below is the text of the 1 A4 page handout circulated to the committee, councillors, officers and others present at the public meeting.
Copies of what is below were handed out during the meeting itself by Cllr Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services), as the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee, unlike many other public meetings of politicians at Wirral Council doesn’t have Wirral Council officers from Legal and Member Services assigned to it to deal with such matters. It’s “served” by officers from Wirral Council’s Children and Young People’s Department (or whatever it’s called these days) instead who take a different view on some matters to that of Legal and Member Services.
HOT SEAT PANEL QUESTIONS & ISSUES RAISED BY YOUNG PEOPLE
Understanding Autism
If you cut resources how will young people on the autistic spectrum be supported in education and employment as currently only 1 in 6 people with autism end up in full-time employment?
How can we all work together on the Wirral to have a better understanding of Autism, allowing us to help and support our peers who are on the autistic spectrum?
Dealing with homophobia
More help and support is needed on understanding homophobia.
More adverts in schools about organisations that can help LGBT young people are needed.
A young peoples training group needs to be established to deliver training is schools and other organisations.
Accessible and gender neutral toilets are needed in schools and youth units.
How do we deal with hate crimes committed by young people?
More LGBT safe spaces are needed.
Media literacy
Proposal
Wirral Borough Council only uses real people or images in any of their adverts or publications and should promote natural beauty.
Other questions –
What regulations exist to address the sexualisation of young people and the impact/pressure resulting in eating disorders?
Why are there no limits on the amount of photoshop imaging that is used in the media?
Dealing with loss and Change
How will young people with emotional health and well-being issues receive support following the proposed cuts to services?
Social Isolation – caused by social media and Gaming
How do the police moderate social media and the propaganda targeted at young people?
Does Public Health have a strategy regarding social media and the negative effects it has on young people’s health and well-being?
