A Really Rotten Borough: 2009

Friday 18 December 2009

Wirral gets red flag on safeguarding vulnerable adults

A unique report on how well Wirral's public services are performing is released today through the new, independent Oneplace website.

Peter Forrester, Oneplace spokesperson for Wirral said:

'Crime rates have been cut and this is a safe place to live. Anti-social behaviour has reduced but it remains a concern for local people. Waste recycling has increased significantly over the past two years and littering and graffiti is reducing. Educational progress is good for most pupils.'

'Health is improving but there are variations in life expectancy between people in the richest and poorest neighbourhoods. People in the borough are becoming more active and the numbers giving up smoking is increasing. The Council needs to do more to safeguard vulnerable adults to ensure that they are not at risk of abuse and neglect.'

Oneplace provides an independent overview of local public services. It will help people see how well their local services, including councils, police and the NHS, are serving their needs and how well these services are working together to improve an area's quality of life.

The assessment for Wirral is one of 152 covering all areas of England. These assessments combine the views of six independent inspectorates to create a single snapshot of an area. They look at how important local issues, such as crime, affordable housing and people's health, are being tackled - and the prospects for improvement.

As well as telling a story about an area, Oneplace sometimes uses green and red flags: green to indicate exceptional performance or improvement that other public services could learn from: red to signal significant concerns about performance and prospects for improvement where more, or something different, needs to be done.

The Wirral area has a red flag for safeguarding vulnerable adults

The Oneplace website also includes information on what inspectors and other organisations will do next to help local services tackle their red flag issues.

Alongside the area assessment, the Audit Commission has also published its organisational assessments for councils and fire authorities. These assessments feed into the overall area assessment but focus on the performance and value for money of individual public services, as well as how effectively they work together.

In Wirral, this means that:

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council is judged to perform adequately
Merseyside Fire And Rescue Authority is judged to perform well

More detailed assessments of social care, education and police services can be found on the websites of Care Quality Commission (external link), Ofsted (external link) and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (external link).

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Monday 30 November 2009

Tory leader demands Wirral Council administration resigns in wake of libraries report

Wirral Globe by Justin Dunn »

THE leader of Wirral's Conservative group is demanding the resignation of the council's ruling Lib-Lab administration after publication of the Charteris report into the now abandoned plan to close 11 libraries.

In a statement, Cllr Jeff Green said: "The Wirral public know that the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration had been given a copy of the Sue Charteris Library Inquiry report on July 27 and that Wirral Council Officers were subsequently informed on September 29 that the Secretary of State’s decision on the administration’s library closure plan was going to be announced on October 1.

"The public will find it shocking, having now had an opportunity to read Sue Charteris’ report, that following their midnight meeting on September 29 the Labour/Liberal Democrat administration, having created so much distress to Wirral residents including some of our most vulnerable citizens and spent so much of Wirral residents' own council tax on developing and defending the their library closure plan, decided not to accept that through their own failings they had got the biggest decision in Wirral’s history wrong.

"The public will be disgusted that members of the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration thought only of themselves and how to protect their own positions, carrying out the biggest political ‘U’ turn in Wirral history and, under the cover of secrecy and then seeking to characterise it as 'decisive leadership'.

"The contrast between the way the ruling Liberal Democrat/Labour administration has behaved over their library closure plan and the professional and inclusive way Sue Charteris conducted her inquiry could not be starker.

"Her report has laid bare the unwillingness of the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration to listen to anyone who disagrees with them and the confused and incompetent decision-making process currently in use by council officers and members of the administration.

"The Wirral public will not forgive those council officers or members of the Labour/Liberal Democrat administration who have brought such a stinging repudiation from Sue Charteris, nor will the public forget that Sue Charteris has exposed them for seeking to impose these closures without even considering the needs of local communities, children or the elderly.

"The public of Wirral owe Sue Charteris a huge debt of gratitude, she has exposed the way this administration has treated the Wirral public and how they disregarded the needs of the most vulnerable in our community.

"This coalition has tried to take the public for fools and been exposed for what they are, they have lost any moral authority or any lingering trust of Wirral residents.

"They should just go – and go now."

Liscard Conservative Cllr Leah Fraser said: "This is an explosive report, not only into the disgraceful decision to close our libraries, but also in exposing the shadowy, secretive nature in which this Labour-led council operates.

"The report states that the council's leadership has now understanding of the range of services in libraries nor any kind of plan for the service.

"Nor had the needs of older people or the unemployed, both of whom are key users of the libraries in Wallasey Village and Seacombe, been considered let alone addressed.

"There is now only one honourable course of action for the people who got us into this mess - and that is their resignation."
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Wirral Council would have broken law if libraries had closed

Wirral Globe by Justin Dunn »

WIRRAL Council would have been breaking the law if it had proceeded with its plan to close 11 of the borough's 24 libraries, a Government inspector said today.

The closures were scrapped on September 30 - just two days before the first draft of inspector Sue Charteris' report was originally due to be published.

The ruling Lib-Lab cabinet said they were scrapping the controversial closures because of budgetary needs - any planned savings from library closures this year had been lost due to the length of the inquiry into them.

But it has now emerged that had they proceeded the council would have been in breach of its stautory duties under the 1984 Museums and Libraries Act.

Some key points made in the Charteris report are:

* "The council failed to make an assessment of local needs in respect of its Library Services."

* "I am profoundly concerned at the lack of transparency of this process."

* "The council has not been able to demonstrate that it has had due regard to the general requirements of children. I consider this to be a breach of its statutory duties."

* "I recognise that Wirral MBC, like other authorities across the country, has considerable pressure on service budgets and needs to ensure it is making the best use of its resources both now and in the future. The absence of a strategic plan or a development plan for the service, based on an assessment of need and a contemporaneous review of the service, completely hinders the council being able to describe how its plans will meet the needs of and have due regard for those who live, work and study in Wirral."

* "I believe that the evidence shows that the Council took the decision to close the libraries without having first established the extent and range of library provision it was providing within the buildings, including those which were 'core' to the service and which were ancillary."

* "My assessment is that the Council’s decision to close 11 of its libraries and develop the remaining 13 into integrated Neighbourhood Centres was and remains premature, and risks being a partial response to local need that would disadvantage relatively isolated and deprived communities. I therefore believe there to be a further breach in relation to the needs of deprived communities.

* "I have found that due to the absence of an assessment of needs and a strategic Library Service review, the council has displayed a lack of logic around why some facilities were recommended for closure and not others."

Today, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said there would be no "decision" made by Secretary of State as Wirral had abandoned the closures.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said "It is clearly no longer appropriate to rule on their [Wirral's]earlier decision.

"Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council are therefore not in breach of their statutory duty."

Miss Hodge's statement says: "Pursuant to his powers under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (“the Act”), the Secretary of State launched a local inquiry into the library service provided by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (“Wirral MBC”) to gather evidence to test whether Wirral MBC's planned restructuring of that service was consistent with their statutory duty to provide the people of Wirral with a comprehensive and efficient public library service.

"He is satisfied that the Inquiry has been conducted fairly and in accordance with the statutory rules on procedure.

"However, after the report on the Inquiry was received by the Secretary of State, Wirral MBC revoked their plans to restructure their service.

"In these circumstances it is no longer necessary for the Secretary of State to take a view on proposals which have since been dropped.

"There is therefore no finding that Wirral MBC are in breach of their statutory duty.

"The Secretary of State welcomes Wirral MBC’s decision to reconsider plans to restructure their library service.

"We hope that they will take account of the issues raised, alongside the conclusions which emerge from the national libraries review, when considering future decisions.

"In respect of any wider implications of the Inquiry, the Secretary of State confirms that, in accordance with the clear requirements of the Act, local authorities are well placed to understand the needs of their local communities and are responsible for delivering local services relative to those needs.

"The Secretary of State will always wish, where possible, to use ways other than a formal inquiry in exercising his statutory obligations.

"It is, however, an ongoing requirement of all local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Act, and of the Secretary of State to consider intervening where an allegation or question arises that an authority may not have done so.

"The Secretary of State wishes to emphasise the importance of all local authorities, being mindful of the needs of those living, working and studying in the area and of how they are addressing such needs in fulfilling their duty to deliver a comprehensive and efficient service."
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Council was in "breach of statutory duties" over library closures

Wirral News by Liam Murphy on Nov 30, 09 02:02 PM

A DAMNING report by libraries inspector Sue Charteris says Wirral Council was in breach of its statutory duties over its plans to shut 11 out of 24 libraries.

In her report Ms Chareris said: "the Inquiry has found the Council to be in breach of its statutory duties under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, because it failed to make an assessment of local needs in respect of its Library Services".

The council revoked the plans at the end of September - although it was later revealed the authority had been given a draft copy of Ms Charteris report.

In the report, published today, Sue Charteris said: "I am also concerned that although the Act does not specifically cover the role of schools in library provision, the Council has not been able to demonstrate that it has had due regard to the general requirements of children which I consider to be a breach of its statutory duties."

The report, published by the DCMS says "the decision was made without a clear understanding of the extent and range of services currently being provided in the libraries".

In one of the most damning lines, Ms Charteris said the closures could be "better described as an indication of intent rather than a fully worked up plan" said it "risks being a partial response to need that would disadvantage relatively isolated and deprived communities. I therefore believe there to be a further breach in relation to the needs of deprived communities".
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Conservative leader Jeff Green's response to the libraries report

Wirral News by Liam Murphy

The leader of the Conservative opposition group has responded to the libraries report:

Cllr Jeff Green said the "public of Wirral owe Sue Charteris a huge debt of gratitude".

He added: "She has exposed the way this administration has treated the Wirral public and how they disregarded the needs of the most vulnerable in our community."

Cllr Green's comments:

'The Wirral public know that the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration had been given a copy of the Sue Charteris Library Inquiry report on 27th July and that Wirral Council Officers were subsequently informed on 29th September that the Secretary of State's decision on the Administration's Library Closure Plan was going to be announced on the 1st October.

The public will find it shocking, having now had an opportunity to read Sue Charteris' report, that following their midnight meeting on the 29th September the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration, having created so much distress to Wirral residents including some of our most vulnerable citizens and spent so much of Wirral residents own Council Tax on developing and defending the their library closure plan decided not to accept that through their own failings they had got the biggest decision in Wirral's history wrong. The public will be disgusted that members of the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration thought only of themselves and how to protect their own positions, carrying out the biggest political 'U' turn in Wirral history and, under the cover of secrecy and then seeking to characterise it as 'Decisive Leadership'.

The contrast between the way the ruling Liberal Democrat/Labour Administration has behaved over their Library Closure Plan and the professional and inclusive way Sue Charteris conducted her Inquiry could not be starker. Her report has laid bare the unwillingness of the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration to listen to anyone who disagrees with them and the confused and incompetent decision making process currently in use by Council Officers and members of the administration.

The Wirral public will not forgive those Council Officers or members of the Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration who have brought such a stinging repudiation from Sue Charteris, nor will the public forget that Sue Charteris has exposed them for seeking to impose these closures without even considering the needs of local communities, children or the elderly.

The public of Wirral owe Sue Charteris a huge debt of gratitude, she has exposed the way this administration has treated the Wirral public and how they disregarded the needs of the most vulnerable in our community. This coalition has tried to take the public for fools and been exposed for what they are, they have lost any moral authority or any lingering trust of Wirral residents. They should just go - and go now!!'
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Wednesday 4 November 2009

Commissioning of Independent Investigation - UPDATE

The above FOI request has been updated as follows:

from Natasha Eubank, 2 November 2009:

Not only have you singularly failed to address my query within the specified timeframes for responding, you have demonstrated the most stunning lack of courtesy by failing to offer an apology for the lateness of your response.

As there has been no request for clarification of the points raised in my original query, I can only assume your response is imminent.

From Jane Corrin, 3 November 2009:

Not only have you singularly failed to address my query within the specified timeframes for responding, you have demonstrated the most stunning lack of courtesy by failing to offer an apology for the lateness of your response.

As there has been no request for clarification of the points raised in my original query, I can only assume your response is imminent.

from Natasha Eubank, 4 November 2009:

Not only have you singularly failed to address my query within the specified timeframes for responding, you have demonstrated the most stunning lack of courtesy by failing to offer an apology for the lateness of your response.

As there has been no request for clarification of the points raised in my original query, I can only assume your response is imminent

Wirral council faces £20m savings challenge to avoid cash crisis

Liverpool Daily Post

WIRRAL Council will have to make savings of more than £20m a year over the next three years to avert a massive budget deficit.

Council leader Steve Foulkes said that, although the current financial year is on target to be balanced, future years look tough for the borough.

A report to the ruling cabinet, which meets on Thursday, says the authority faces shortfalls in its budget of £76.5m between 2011 and 2014.

Even with council tax increases at around 4% – increases over 5% are likely to be capped by the Government – this leaves shortfalls of £23.1m, £20m and £21m, over this period.

Even this coming year, 2010-11, the council faces a shortfall of £13.6m and, even with a 5.2% council tax increase next year, has to find “efficiency savings” of £8.4m.

Cllr Foulkes said: “Others have been trying to not face it by saying we do not need to make difficult decisions.

“This year is the last year in the current three-year cycle and we have coped well, but it’s the duty of any politician with backbone to deal with the predictions that there will be severe public spending cuts whichever party wins the next General Election.

“We expect local government will have to take some of the share of that.

“We need to take decisions now, while we have some manoeuvrability for the benefit of the council tax payers.

“This year, the budget is on target.

“But we would be in a better position if we had not had to backtrack, but that has not been in our hands.”

Wirral Council’s director of finance, Ian Coleman, recommended that the authority maintains a review of budget projections “as the global recession develops”.

In his report on next year’s budget, Mr Coleman warned of reductions in the cash handed to councils by the Government.

He said: “In his Budget speech on April 22, 2009, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that the main grant for 2010-11 would not be reduced, but there will be reductions from 2011-12.”

Mr Coleman said: “The gap between projected expenditure and anticipated resources will need to be bridged by a combination of savings and/or increased council tax.”

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Shanghai jolly for Councillors - who is paying?

Wirral Globe

WIRRAL council has proposed spending £28,000 for officers to take part in a business conference in Shanghai next year.

The proposal is designed to promote the multi-billion Wirral Waters scheme to develop the Birkenhead and Wallasey docklands.

The council’s ruling cabinet committee will vote on the proposal this Thursday.

So who will be paying for this jolly? The Council Taxpayers of Wirral, of course!
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Tuesday 3 November 2009

SPECIAL AUDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT - TONIGHT

Special Meeting
Audit and Risk Management Committee

Tuesday, 3rd November, 2009 6.15 pm

Agenda reports pack PDF 3 MB

Venue:
Committee Room 1
Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Contact:
Mark Delap Senior Committee Officer

AGENDA:

2. Minutes
To receive the minutes of the special meeting of the Committee held on 23 September 2009.

The minutes are so flawed and incomplete that many protests have been made by members of the public. here and here

3. Adult Social Services - Charging Policy - Service Users Residing at "In House" Supported Living Units during the period 1997 to 2003
Additional documents:
Appendix Index, item 3.
Appendix 1, item 3.
Appendix 2, item 3.
Appendix 3, item 3.
Appendix 4, item 3.
Appendix 5, item 3.
Appendix 6, item 3.

4. Progress Report on Action Plan in relation to Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) Additional documents:
Appendix, item 4.

5. Charging Arrangements for Supported Living in Wirral 1997 to 2003

As is to be expected, all the above contain lies, damned lies and statistics. If any reader is aware of specific lies, please contact Veridici in the strictest of confidence (anonymously if preferred).

6. Any Other Urgent Business Approved by the Chair

Monday 2 November 2009

COUNCIL MEETING - TONIGHT

Council Meeting
Monday, 2nd November, 2009 6.15 pm

NOTICES OF MOTION
Notice has been given, in accordance with Standing Order 8(1), of motions on the following subjects.

1. MOTION: ADULT SOCIAL CARE - PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE
Proposed by Councillor Simon Mountney (7 minutes)
Seconded by Councillor Geoffrey Watt (3 minutes)

(1) This Council recognises that a number of concerns were raised by a Council ‘whistleblower’ in October 2007 under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which in turn has resulted in the Audit Commission issuing Wirral Council with a Public Information Disclosure report.

(2) Council notes the findings of the report:
• Although 30 accredited providers are used by the Council only 12 contracts have been signed and returned by providers.
• No formal arrangements have been established for the contract monitoring of
supported living providers.
• There are no arrangements at present for feedback from service users where there is dissatisfaction with services or where quality standards have not been met.
• There remains a substantial risk that users receiving services from one of the
Councils service providers are being charged unfairly.
• The Council does not always know the actual contributions that the provider rquires service users to contribute for services they provide. Consequently the Council is not in a position to know whether the aggregate of charges levied on
service users by the Council and contributions required by the provider are in
compliance with the guidance of fairer charging. It is not clear who is currently ensuring that these service users are receiving adequate protection for the risk
of financial abuse.

(3) Council notes the fact that these findings had previously been raised with officers of the Council by the whistleblower and, whilst thanking the Audit Commission for the production of this report and bringing the matter out into the open, condemns the fact that the Council’s own procedures are so defective as to have needed the Audit Commission’s intervention to bring them to the notice of the Council and the public.

(4) Council believes that this PIDA report and the Department’s unwillingness to bring to the Council’s attention the whistleblower’s concerns regarding the treatment of those in our care demonstrates a lack of effective governance, management and leadership within the Department.

(5) Therefore this Council instructs the Chief Executive to appoint an independent person of sufficient standing and experience to investigate these matters fully, speedily and rigorously and to bring their findings to the Council’s attention, including any disciplinary action, if required, at the earliest possible occasion.

AMENDMENT
Proposed by Councillor Denise Roberts (7 minutes)
Seconded by Councillor Ron Abbey (3 minutes)

Delete all text after the end of section (2) and replace with the following:

(3) Council notes the serious implications of the findings and recognises that they point to serious management failings in adult social services in the past over a long period of time. Council acknowledges these findings and notes that the Director of Adult Social Services has prepared a report addressing these failings and their consequences and that this will be presented to Audit and Risk Management Committee on 3rd November.

(4) In relation to allegations of bullying of the whistleblower, Council notes and supports Cabinets decision to instruct the Director of Law HR and Asset Management to commence an investigation into the treatment of the individual, in relation to allegations of bullying. Council also notes that an outside, independent person will conduct this investigation.

(5) Council welcomes the Audit & Risk Management Committee recommendation to reimburse service users at Bermuda Road, Curlew Way and Edgehill Road Moreton, between April 2003 and February 2006.

(6) Council also notes that the audit and risk management committee will tomorrow (3 November 2009) receive a report providing further information with respect to the charging that took place between the period 1997 - 2003, and based on that will make a recommendation on whether re-imbursement will take place for that period.

AMENDMENT
Proposed by Councillor Leah Fraser (7 minutes)
Seconded by Councillor Jeff Green (3 minutes)

In addition to the existing Conservative Notice of Motion add the following:

(6) This Council recognises that the concerns raised by Mr Martin Morton in October 2007 under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, and earlier to Senior Officers, are both well-founded and serious.

(7) Council further notes that in the twelve months since the PIDA was published

(a) It has now been established that a vulnerable group of people with learning disabilities in the care of this Council were unlawfully financially abused by this Council over many years. The full extent of this financial abuse and the level of unlawfulness is yet to be established, however, the original figure of £78,499.62 first quoted by the Director of DASS is now recognised as woefully short of the total amount improperly obtained from the residents within our care.

(b) Despite the contributions made by Directors and the most senior officers in its production, the most recent report by Internal Audit has gone only part of the way to revealing the truth. What is much clearer is that much of the evidence presented by Mr Morton and all of his relevant knowledge of this ongoing financial abuse has been ignored or mistakenly omitted from the report.

(c) This Council continues to applaud the efforts of Mr Martin Morton in attempting to ensure that the full extent of the financial abuse and wrong doing is brought into the open

(d) Council expresses its concern that the Cabinet member for Adult and Social Care is yet to make a full comment to the Audit committee or Council regarding how aware she was of this situation and why she had not taken any action prior to the publication of the PIDA report.

(e) Therefore this Council requests that the Chief Executive, in conjunction with the three party leaders selects a person of suitable standing, who is totally independent and fully qualified to carry out a full public inquiry into the PIDA report, in order to draw this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

Right of reply: Councillor Simon Mountney (7 minutes)

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© copyright Wirral Borough Council. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting
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Monday 19 October 2009

Governor blasts plan to axe popular Wirral schools

Liverpool Echo

A SCHOOL governor from Wirral has hit out at plans to close a successful and popular school.

Wirral Council’s ruling Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition approved proposals to consult parents on the idea of creating a mixed-sex academy and an all-boys academy for pupils.

They would replace the existing Park High, Rock Ferry High and Ridgeway High, in Birkenhead.

But Sally Reynolds, chairman of Ridgeway High’s governing body, said she believed many parents are opposed to the plans.

Mrs Reynolds said: “The community and parents have been up in arms about these plans.”

She said many people have received incorrect information about what is happening, and parents have been concerned about sending their children to Ridgeway fearing they will face the upheaval of closure.

She said the proposed boys academy aims to have results comparable to Ridgeway after five years.

Mrs Reynolds said: “Why would we want to send our kids to a school whose ambition is to get to where we are now in five years time?

“This is the libraries all over again – they decide what is going to happen and don’t ask what we want, and this is even more important because it’s about our children’s education.”

Ridgeway is tonight to hold a public meeting to gauge parents’ views on the proposed closure of the school. The “Preliminary Consultation Meeting” has been organised by the governors at the school.

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Number of disclosures under the PIDA (1990) since 2000

M Smith has responded to Wirral Council as follows:

Upon reflection I would ask that you reconsider an amendment to my original
request.

Not counting the two Wirral employees who made disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, how many disclosures have been made by ANY Officer (up to and including Chief Executive) or Member (up to and including Leader and Mayor) of Wirral Council since 2000,

These should include any
that prompted an investigation/inquiry by the Audit Commission or other
statutory body, whether they resulted in a public interest report or not.
Yours sincerely .

Thursday 15 October 2009

EXCLUSIVE: Wirral Tory leader piles pressure on council law chief over libraries report

Wirral Globe - by Justin Dunn »

WIRRAL Council's head of law is coming under increasing pressure to explain why he excluded the leader of the local Tory group from seeing a confidential report into the library closure programme.

The Conservatives were the only political party on the council not to be shown the contents of the document produced by government-appointed inspector Sue Charteris following a local inquiry in June.

In a letter, which is sure to inflame already strained relations between the Tories and the council's head of law Bill Norman, group leader Jeff Green demands to know what criteria was applied by Mr Norman when considering who was deemed appropriate to read the report.

In all, fourteen people including Mr Norman were allowed to see the report, which is widely believed to be highly critical of the council.

They were five members of the Labour and Liberal Democrat ruling cabinet committee and nine senior council officers.

The names of all those individuals were revealed in an email from Mr Norman to all councillors and senior officers on Tuesday evening, in which he said he had no objection to its contents being passed on to the press and public.

The council was sent the report on July 27 for "fact checking". The cabinet made its surprise announcement that it was scrapping the closures programme on September 30.

Mr Norman received his letter from Cllr Green by email today. The Globe has also obtained a copy.

In it, Cllr Green writes: "I have raised with you and the Chief Executive on many occasions my concerns over how this matter is being handled.

"I have also asked you why Lesley [Rennie, Tory group deputy leader] and I were not deemed suitable to be included in the fact checking exercise and my sincere belief that our knowledge (charged as we are with representing the largest number of Wirral residents) was essential to checking any of the facts Sue Charteris wanted scrutinising in her report.

"Now you have provided a list of those you did deem suitable to see this report, can I to begin with, ask you to provide me with your reasoning (based on the list you have provided) regarding:

"What role you thought [head of tourism and marketing] Emma Degg should play in the fact checking exercise? (Of course I understand that Emma develops and manages the council’s media strategy – but if she was given a copy of the report for that reason it would suggest that it was sent to her to provide expertise on a handling strategy rather than any direct expertise she could provide on the accuracy of any facts contained in Sue Charteris’ report).

"What role you thought the Cabinet Member for the Environment should play in the fact checking exercise? (Of course I understand Gill [Gardiner] is the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group – but if she was given a copy of the report for that reason it would suggest that it was sent to her because of her political position rather than any expertise she could provide on the facts contained in the report).

"I would also welcome your guidance on what the current policy is regarding officers who have told me direct untruths in that a number of the people listed below have told me directly that they had not seen the report and one listed below told me they had seen it but it did not contain recommendations?"

Cllr Green goes on to ask "whether external legal or professional services were used in developing the Council’s response to the draft report?

"Whether the Council has had any direct communication with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the council’s response to the draft report and when an announcement (prior to the Cabinet’s change of policy) was due or would be made?

"I would also like to know from you whether you have checked with the people listed as having seen the report under the 'obligation of confidentiality' whether they have shared the content of the report or its recommendations with anyone and if they had what the consequences would be?"

The Globe has been asking similar questions of the council since Tuesday morning and last night received the following statement in response:

"The Director of Law, Human Resources and Asset Management shared the initial draft of the report with the senior Members and Officers who were required to provide information or assistance to enable him to respond to Sue Charteris on the content of the draft report.

"He would like to emphasise that this decision was absolutely not intended to be a reflection on any individual Member’s ability to respect confidences."
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Number of disclosures under the PIDA (1990) since 2000

Wirral Council has replied to M Smith regarding the above, as follows:

There have been 2 Wirral Employees who have made disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 between January 1 2000 and today's date. One Employee worked for Department of Adult Social Services and this information which named the department has already been in the Public Domain. The Council is unable to name the 2nd Department and is relying on the exemption found in the FOI legislation at Section 31. In detail the part of the section we have relied on is below.

"The section allows that information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice (g) the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2).
Subsection (2), by or on behalf of the authority by virtue of Her Majesty's prerogative or by virtue of powers conferred by or under an enactment.
In particular the purposes referred to above in (g) is- (b) the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper,"

One employee is still employed as of today's date.

Special Audit & Risk Management Committee meeting-FOLLOW-UP

The next Special Audit and Risk Management Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 6.15 pm, when results of further investigations into the Special Charging Policy will be discussed.

It will also be an opportunity for the draft minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2009 to be amended following complaints made to Councillors and the Director of Law.

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Wednesday 14 October 2009

Revealed - the councillors and senior council officers with access to the draft Wirral libraries report

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Wirral Globe - by Justin Dunn »

THE IDENTITIES of thirteen councillors and senior officers given access to the confidential draft report into the Wirral library closure inquiry can be revealed tonight.

The Globe can also reveal that the selected group had been in possession of the draft report since July 27, weeks earlier than commonly thought.

Those with copies of the report include Labour group leader Cllr Steve Foulkes, who is the council leader, and Liberal Democrat leader Simon Holbrook, who is the deputy council leader.

Senior officers who received the report include council chief executive Steve Maddox, his deputy Jim Wilkie, regeneration director Alan Stennard - whose department came up with the idea of closing eleven of the borough's 24 libraries as part of the borough's controversial Strategic Asset Review - and tourism and marketing chief Emma Degg.

The names of all recipients have been released this evening in a letter to all councillors and senior officers from Bill Norman, the borough solicitor - who it has always been known was in possession of the report.

His revelation follows an extraordinary meeting of the council last night in which Mr Norman was asked by opposition Conservative Cllr Ian Lewis to name those who had access to the draft report prepared by inspector Sue Charteris following her two week local inquiry in June, which was passed on to Mr Norman for "fact checking" purposes on July 27.

The Conservatives believe the contents of the report led to the surprise announcement by the ruling Lib-Lab cabinet on September 30 that it was revoking the controversial library closure programme.

The cabinet insist the decision to scrap the closure programme was made because the inquiry had dragged on so long that any prospective savings could not now be realised this year.

No Conservative councillors had access to the report.

In his letter this evening - in which he makes clear he has "no objection to this email being shared with the press or public" - Mr Norman, the council's director of law, lists those he shared the draft with.

They are:

Steve Maddox, Wirral Council chief executive

Jim Wilkie, deputy chief executive

Alan Stennard, director of regeneration

Ian Coleman, director of finance

Howard Cooper, director of children and young people

Jim Lester, head of cultural services

Emma Degg, head of tourism and marketing

Rosemary Lyon, interim head of legal and member services

Cllr Steve Foulkes, council leader and Labour group leader

Cllr Simon Holbrook, deputy council leader and Liberal Democrat group leader

Cllr Phil Davies, deputy Labour group leader and cabinet member for children's services and lifelong learning

Cllr Gill Gardiner, deputy Lib Dem group leader and cabinet member for the environment

Councillor Bob Moon, Lib Dem cabinet member for culture, tourism and leisure

In his emailed letter this evening, Mr Norman writes that he was sent the draft report from inspector Sue Charteris on July 27.

He says he "only circulated the draft report to those members within the cabinet and those officers from whom I needed comments prior to responding to Sue Charteris".

The email adds: "As the recipient of the letter, that judgement fell to me and I accept personal responsibility for my decision in that regard (this was not a matter on which I took any external legal advice).

"However, I wish to emphasise that my decision was absolutely not intended to be a reflection as to any individual member’s ability to respect confidences.

"I was asked [at last night's full council meeting] to list those persons to whom I have shown a copy of the draft report.

"Although I do not believe that there is any legal obligation on me to disclose this information, equally I understand the exceptional level of interest in this matter.

"I have therefore decided to provide that information."

Mr Norman moved to allay fears that the Charteris report may never be published, insisting in bold letters that it will, once it has been considered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which ordered the local inquiry.

Tory group leader Jeff Green, speaking to the Globe during a break in the Wirral Youth Parliament debate at Wallasey Town Hall tonight, said: "There is something very rotten within Wirral Council.

"It seems indicative of the way this administration is run. One person has already been in touch with me to apologise for saying 'no' when I asked them previously if they'd seen a copy of the report.

"I'm the leader of the largest group on Wirral Council. How come the officers don't seem to think I am an appropriate person to see the report?"

Cllr Ian Lewis - who had challenged Mr Norman during Monday evening's council meeting to name the recipients of the report - said: "Obtaining any information on the library closures has been like pulling teeth.

"While I am grateful to finally receive the list of the selected few who have been given access to the report, I am disappointed that we still do not know what is in it.

"The councillors in the areas affected by the cuts should have been given the same access to the report for 'fact checking', rather than just the 'in crowd' of the most senior officers and some of the ruling cabinet."

Liscard Conservative Cllr Leah Fraser said: "This is yet further evidence of the secretive way in which the people running this council choose to do business.

"It's as though the Freedom of Information campaign has passed them by.

"What we are seeing is 'the state knows best' and that the taxpayers and library users of this borough can't be trusted by the current cabinet running Wirral.

"This cannot go on - it is time for a fundamental change in the way the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral operates."
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Tuesday 13 October 2009

Wirral libraries inquiry: Tories quiz borough solicitor over access to confidential report

Wirral Globe - by Justin Dunn »

WIRRAL’S borough solicitor has found himself at the centre of a political storm by revealing the controversial decision over who was allowed to see a top secret report into the library closure programme was his alone.

Bill Norman told a special meeting of the council on Monday that he had used his own judgement as to who he deemed “appropriate” to be allowed access to the draft report by government inspector Sue Charteris.

Asked to name the councillors and town hall officers who had seen the report, Mr Norman - the council’s director of law and also its monitoring officer - said he wanted time to “reflect” on his reply.

Opposition Tories believe all members of the Lib-Lab coalition cabinet have seen the document, widely believed to be critical of its approach to the proposed closure of 11 Wirral libraries.

They called the meeting on Monday night to discuss the administration's U-turn on the closures, which was announced on the evening of September 30.

The Conservative group believes the administration reversed its plan because of what it had read.

But the Lib-Lab administration insists its decision was made because the inquiry had dragged on so long that any savings to be made this year had been lost.

Council leader Steve Foulkes said the proposed savings would have been reinvested as part of a £20m plan to build 13 multi-purpose neighbourhood centres throughout Wirral.

“That opportunity has now gone,” said Cllr Foulkes, during a stormy debate which lasted almost three hours, in which he also accused Tories of calling the meeting not out of any concern for libraries but to make “political capital”.

There is still no date for when Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw will publish his decision, based on the final report, and the Conservatives fear it may never be released.

Moreton Conservative Cllr Chris Blakeley has now written to the borough solicitor seeking confirmation that it was his lone decision on who was allowed to see the report.

Wirral Council had not responded at the time the Globe went to press.

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Monday 12 October 2009

Cost of investigation and disciplinary process re senior council officer-UPDATE

Wirral Council has responded to the Freedom of Information request as follows:

Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your email below. I have now had sight of the invoices which the Council received and paid in relation to the independent Investigation, and they are from, and paid to North West Employers. I hope this has been of use.
Kind Regards

M Smith has replied:

Dear Ms Corrin,

Thank you for that information. In order to clear up any confusion, would it be possible for you to establish whether or not the investigation was sub-contracted by North West Employers to Vic Hewitt Consulting Ltd?

Regarding the second element of my request, you say there were no separate associated legal costs, as the legal work was all done in house by Wirral Council Employees.

Please will you provide an estimate of the cost of this investigation, as I assume the employees were not working pro bono. This can be calculated from the number of
man-hours entailed and the salaries of those concerned.

Also I understand that Mr Martin Moreton, a Council whistle blower, stated publicly at a recent meeting of the Audit and Risk Management Committee that Wirral Council paid his solicitor's fees, in relation to the disciplinary investigation, from its
commencement in 2008.

Thank you

Yours sincerely,

Thursday 8 October 2009

Mayor: 'Take it back or I'll sue' threat to Wirral Liberal Democrat leader

Wirral Globe - by Justin Dunn »

THE Mayor of Wirral is demanding local Lib Dem leader Simon Holbrook retracts a claim he is bringing the office into disrepute.

The Mayor, Cllr Andrew Hodson, says he will issue legal proceedings within 24 hours unless his warning is heeded.

Cllr Hodson told the Globe today he intends to sue Cllr Holbrook personally for defamation of character, and also report him to the Standards Board, a local authority watchdog.

The row comes on the back of the council's dramatic decision to scrap the highly controversial plan to close eleven of Wirral's 24 libraries, announced last Wednesday evening.

The plan had been backed by the ruling Lib-Lab administration right up until that moment. Cllr Holbrook is deputy leader of the council.

Tories believe the U-turn came after council leader Steve Foulkes, leader of the Labour group, and his deputy Cllr Holbrook, were allowed sight of the still unpublished findings of a Government-led inquiry into the proposed library closures.

They are demanding the report - which senior councillors and officers have had for a month for "fact checking" - be published unedited immediately.

The Globe has learned the draft report made for "painful" reading for the administration.

The Tories then gathered enough signatures to ask the Mayor - himself a Conservative, although the office is non-political - to call an extraordinary meeting of the full council to discuss the U-turn.

That meeting, which will be open to the public, will be held at Wallasey Town Hall this coming Monday evening, October 12.

But last night, the Mayor's decision to grant the meeting on that date was called into question by Cllr Holbrook.

In a statement, his office said: "Liberal Democrat leader and deputy leader of the council, Cllr Simon Holbrook, has accused the Conservative Mayor of Wirral, elected in a nonpartisan manner, of bringing his office into disrepute.

"Cllr Holbrook has received advice from the council’s Director of Law, Human Resources and Asset Management that the date for the extraordinary meeting of the council scheduled for Monday, October 12, can be set at the Mayor’s discretion."

Cllr Holbrook said in the statement: "The Mayor responded to a request from 18 of his own Conservative party colleagues for an extraordinary meeting of the council without consulting either of the other political groups.

"By not consulting with other political parties, the Mayor has used his civic role for party political benefit.

"There is a long standing tradition in Wirral of the mayor acting in a non political manner.

"This is a good tradition and one we lose at our peril."

The statement added: "Cllr Holbrook made the request to reschedule because October 12 clashes with a long-standing business commitment for his employer.

"The date of Thursday, October 15 (currently the next scheduled cabinet meeting, meaning all cabinet members would be available) has been offered by the council leadership as an alternative."

Today Cllr Hodson told the Globe he had spoken to Cllr Holbrook demanding he retract his remarks.

"I've told him I expect the retraction within 24 hours or I'll begin defamation proceedings against him, and also report him to the Standards Board," he said.

"The fact is I have done nothing wrong. The correct number of signatures was gathered to ask me to call an extraordinary meeting, which I've done.

"I also spoke with the director of law who told me I had to give three working days' notice. In fact I gave five with two weekends.

"When I spoke to Cllr Holbrook this morning I made it clear that there are 65 councillors to consider.

"He said I should have moved the meeting, but if you start doing that [for one person] you'll never have the meeting at all.

"Cllr Holbrook told me he couldn't discuss the matter any further at that moment, so I'm awaiting to hear his retraction by tomorrow morning, or the legal action will commence."

Cllr Holbrook was unavailable for comment.

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Wednesday 7 October 2009

to all who attended the Special Audit & Risk Management meeting

The draft minutes of the ARMC have been published today. They can be found HERE.

Martin Morton's contribution to the meeting is summed up in one paragraph:

With the agreement of the Chair, Mr Morton addressed the Committee. He expressed concern in relation to some of the findings of the audit, in particular that the policy approved in 1997 was reasonable and thus lawful. Mr Morton pointed out that it had been implemented without consultation.

And that's it!

If you were present on 23 September, and believe that the minutes are a travesty, please make your comments and feelings known to all of the following:

The Director of Law - billnorman@wirral.gov.uk
ARMC clerk Mark Delap - markdelap@wirral.gov.uk
The following Councillors were all present at the meeting and must be fully aware that the minutes are not a true reflection of the meeting:

Cllr Ann Bridson - annbridson@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Jim Crabtree - jimcrabtree@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Leah Fraser - leahfraser@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Jeff Green - jeffgreen@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Simon Holbrook - simonholbrook@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Simon Mountney - simonmountney@wirral.gov.uk
Jean Quinn - jeanquinn@wirral.gov.uk
Lesley Rennie - lesleyrennie@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Peter Reisdorf - peterreisdorf@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr John Salter - johnsalter@wirral.gov.uk
Cllr Paula Southwood - paulasouthwood@wirral.gov.uk
District Auditor and Auditor for Wirral were also present

Mike Thomas - m-thomas@audit-commission.gov.uk
Liz Temple-Murray - l-temple-murray@audit-commission.gov.uk
The press who have been covering the story and/or were present:

Justin Dunn - jdunn@wirral-globe.co.uk
Craig Manning - cmanning@wirral-globe.co.uk
Lee Marles - lmarles@wirral-globe.co.ukLiam Murphy - liammurphy@liverpoolecho.co.uk
For far too long Martin Morton has carried this fight single-handed. Now is the time for the people of Wirral to show he is not a lone voice in the wilderness.

The Council taxpayers of Wirral pay these people's wages. Make them work for you.

Write now and demand the minutes be amended. Demand an external inquiry, an independent external inquiry. Demand the police be called in.
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Sunday 4 October 2009

Local Government Ombudsman

A letter from the Local Government Ombudsman addressed to Wirral Council has been made available to this site. At this time it would not be appropriate for the complete letter to be made public, but suffice to say it does not contain good news for the Council.

The Council has until 22 October to respond and answer questions contained in the letter.

Given their record on Freedom of Information requests the outlook seems bleak
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Thursday 1 October 2009

Cost of investigation and disciplinary process re senior council officers-LATEST

M Smith has responded to Wirral Council regarding this FOI request:

Dear Ms Corrin,

As a result of the annotation made by Veridici I made a telephone call to North West Employers. They confirmed that Mr Hewitt did indeed retire early last year, well before the investigation was ordered by WBC.

In view of this I think it best that the internal review go ahead in order to establish whether the information with which you have been provided is correct.

Yours sincerely,

This brings the number of requests awaiting internal review to twelve, with another seven overdue.

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Wednesday 30 September 2009

Cost of investigation and disciplinary process re senior council office-LATEST

Wirral Council has provided information regarding this FOI request:

Good Afternoon,

Further to my email below, please find detailed the costs to the Council of the Independent Investigation, carried out by North West Employers.
(Apologies that this request has been delayed until today and not responded to on the due date of 28 September 2009.)

Costs including VAT were £14,678.95

I hope the information I have supplied is of use to you.
Kind Regards

Natasha Eubank has made an annotation to the above as follows:

is there no hard copy evidence to support the amount quoted by WBC?

There should be.

Veridici has made an annotation with the following:

Natasha Eubank, my information from a very reliable source is that the investigation was not carried out by North West Employers.

Vic Hewitt of Vic Hewitt Consulting Ltd (Regd. No. 06490633) retired from North West Employers over nine months prior to being appointed by WBC.

He is a one-man business working from home. Around £3,000 per day (not £5,000 as stated on WDTK ) is a very nice little earner for a pensioner, isn't it?

Just when you think it can't get any worse, too!
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Tuesday 29 September 2009

Wirral Council reveals plan to privatise parks

Liverpool Daily Post - by Liam Murphy,

WIRRAL’S parks, countryside and open spaces could be turned over to a private company to manage, under cost-cutting plans being considered by the council.

An asset review has been under way within the authority in recent months assessing all areas of outside space – along with Landican crematorium, golf courses, allotments and sports facilities – which could be included in the proposals.

Cabinet member for culture Cllr Bob Moon said the aim was to improve maintenance standards, gain a closer working relationship with park users and community groups and provide improved facilities.

The council also wants to see the plans result in improved security in parks, better marketing of the facilities and better value for money.

A report to Wirral’s ruling cabinet on the Parks and Countryside Service said the “review includes all of the Parks and Countryside service and the existing Streetscene grounds maintenance contracts, a total contract value of £7.9m per annum.”

The borough’s park rangers and beach lifeguards are among those services which could also be affected by the proposals.

Cllr Moon said the scheme, which remains in its early stages, could result in a private sector company taking on all the facilities on the council’s behalf.

It would work in much the same way that Biffa and Colas were taken on to deal with the borough’s refuse collection and highways maintenance services, respectively. The Colas contract saw many council staff transferred to the private sector company.

Cllr Moon said: “We’re doing the same for the delivery of services in the parks – that is currently done in-house [by Wirral Council], and we’re also looking at crematoria and cemeteries, allotments, golf courses and even grass cutting on verges.”

He said a review of all these assets was almost complete as part of the preparations for seeking a private sector partner.

Wirral’s Parks and Countryside Service is responsible for managing and maintaining 1,505 hectares of land at 272 sites located throughout the Borough.

This includes 60 parks, six country parks, seven local nature reserves, 27 natural areas, 24 sports grounds, 42 green spaces, nine cemeteries, four municipal golf courses and 41 allotment sites.

The cabinet member said consultants had advised the council of three options.

The first would see services kept in-house, but Cllr Moon said: “They are reluctant that we go down that path, because it’s not been very successful in the past. It’s a ‘do nothing’ approach with minimal savings.”

The second option is for some parts of the service to be put together and put out to tender as a block, but others dealt with in a different way – for example, the most profitable areas of the service such as golf courses and crematoria, which could continue to be council-run, or in separate partnerships.

Cllr Moon said the third option being looked at is to “engage a partner to oversee the whole service” although this entails a greater risk.

He said: “If we go down that route, we would have to be confident that you and the service provider are talking the same language.”

Cllr Moon pointed to Hounslow, in London, which has taken this option, and said councillors would be visiting there to see how it works.

Earlier this month, Wirral Council’s ruling cabinet agreed to press ahead with the next steps in the process, which remains in the earliest stages.

Among the areas which could be included is the historic Birkenhead Park, which is acknowledged to be the first publicly-funded park in Britain.

Birkenhead Park, which has recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment, was designed by Joseph Paxton and officially opened in 1847, when it was an immediate success.

It was the forerunner of the Parks Movement and its influence was far reaching both in this country and abroad – most notably on Olmstead's design for Central Park, in New York.

Wirral’s Parks and Countryside Service currently manage 70 children’s play areas, of which 45 are located in parks, and 135 soccer pitches.

There is a beach lifeguard Service covering the coast between West Kirby and Seacombe which supervises bathing and safety equipment and oversees use of slipways for the launching of boats using a permit system.

Wirral’s beaches and foreshores are managed by the ranger services in association with the beach lifeguard service and park staff.

This involves beach cleaning, treatment of invasive marsh grasses and zoning of recreational activities such as sand yachting and water skiing.

Sunday 27 September 2009

Wirral's Champion 2009

The Wirral News is asking for nominations of peoplewho really make a difference in the community.

We have exactly the right candidate in Martin Morton, the Wirral Whistleblower.

What better way could there be of expressing the gratitude andthanks of all of us to him for his bravery and perseverance, and it would be one in the eye for the Council into the bargain!

CLICK HEREto go direct to the nomination form.

Most of us won't know his address or telephone number, but Martin Morton (Wirral Whistleblower)will probably be sufficient for identification.
What about it, folks? Vote, and get everyone who cares to vote too.
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Wednesday 23 September 2009

Disabled driver sent parking ticket because Wirral's spy car could not see blue badge

Liverpool Daily Post - by Carrie Catterall

A DISABLED driver was hit with a parking fine – because Wirral Council’s “spy car” could not see his blue badge.

The new Smart car, which does the job of a traffic warden, uses a camera to photograph vehicles parked illegally.

The owner of the car is then sent a fine through the post.

But the council last night apologised after sending tickets to a disabled driver who was displaying a blue badge.

The camera could not see onto the dashboard of his vehicle, so did not register he was parked legally.

John Cowley, 65, of Irby, has a blue badge because he drives for his wife Cheryl, an arthritis sufferer.

He received a ticket after his car was photographed and had to appeal.

The grandfather said: “The fact this camera did not see the blue badge on my dashboard was ridiculous.

“It means other disabled people and I could get tickets again and again for parking perfectly legally.

“Luckily I won the appeal, but the letter I received said I might not win it next time.”

Wirral Council has apologised to any blue badge holders who received a ticket.

A spokesman said it has implemented new procedures to ensure tickets are not issued when a badge exempts them from parking rules.
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Wednesday 16 September 2009

Wirral’s parking “spy car” to continue

Birkenhead News - by Liam Murphy

NEW rules are being introduced by council chiefs so they can continue using a controversial “spy car” to enforce parking laws.

The use of the Smart car, equipped with specialised CCTV camera equipment, was thrown into question after a landmark legal ruling last month.

Wirral Council had been using cameras set up in the vehicle to target illegal parking.

They photograph drivers who park wrongly and then send them a fine through the post.

Next week, the council’s audit committee will be advised of new procedures for using the vehicle.

Officials will have to put up notices in the street warning drivers the equipment is being operated in the area.

A council report said: “Before commencing enforcement, traffic signs will be erected either end of the enforcement location to advise motorists of the presence of the CCTV camera.

“This is in addition to the on-vehicle markings and the existing road markings and signs.”

Wallasey councillor Leah Fraser, Conservative spokeswoman on the audit committee, said: “The spy car was sneakily launched on an unsuspecting public without prior warning or publicity.

“If we want people to park more sensibly, it would be better if drivers knew the consequences beforehand and the spy car must be parked legally as well.”

Rachel Johnson, 34, who owns Bargain Booze off licence, in Victoria Road, New Brighton, received three £70 parking fines through the post in one week as a result of pictures taken by a “spy camera”.

But, after Ms Johnson took her case to a traffic penalty tribunal, it was ruled unless councils put up signs warning motorists the cars are being used, the tickets are invalid.

Ms Johnson’s ruling could open the floodgates for thousands of other appeals from motorists.

The periscope-mounted camera cars were first trialled in London at the beginning of 2007 before being rolled out across the UK.

It is estimated more than 30 councils now use Smart cars to supplement traffic wardens.

The council report added: “Wirral is currently one of a small number of authorities outside London with Secretary of State approval for CCTV parking enforcement”.

The vehicle has a mobile CCTV control room, including cameras, recording and playback equipment.

Friday 11 September 2009

Wirral surgery gets green light

Liverpool Echo - by Gary Stewart

A GP ‘super surgery’ will be built on greenbelt lane next to Arrowe Park after an 10 year battle.

Opponents had cited a lack of public transport, destruction of greenbelt and traffic issues as reasons to throw out the plan.

But Wirral councillors backed the move, after it was put back before them in a modified form.

The surgery at The Warrens will amalgamate surgeries from Irby, Heswall, and Thingwall.

MP Stephen Hesford said: “The struggle’s over, so now let the community come together behind the fantastic new health facilities to be built.”

© copyright Wirral News. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting
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Wednesday 9 September 2009

Wirral traders’ fury at ‘pay to display’ charges

Wirral News - by Carrie Catterall

SHOPKEEPERS are set to start a petition against Wirral Council who are charging them to put up A boards and signs in the street.

The new conditions and charges apply to all businesses who use A boards, signs or external shop displays to advertise their business.

From now on shop and business owners wanting to display A boards must pay £50 for the first year and then £40 for every subsequent year.

For those wanting a shop display licence, which allows displays to take up a maximum of five square meters outside their business, shopkeepers must pay £75 for the first year and £60 for every subsequent year.

These charges have particularly angered business owners in Banks Road, West Kirby, who have advertised their businesses with shop displays and A boards for years without having to pay a charge.

A group of business owners in the area now say they will be forming a petition against the council.

Tony Dangerfield, owner of Waverly newsagents, West Kirby, has had to apply for a shop display licence.

He said: “I don’t look at this as a licence fee but as another form of tax on small businesses.

“We work to a budget so every additional cost thrown on us in these times has to be recovered from somewhere else and labour is our only flexible cost.”

Another Banks Road businessman said: “I think this is absolutely dreadful.

“We are in the middle of a credit crunch, so surely the council should be helping us out not putting more pressure on us.”

A spokeswoman for Wirral Council said: “For many years, businesses have been using the pavements as an extension of their premises by displaying notices, A boards, signs and external shop displays.

“There have been a number of occasions where this has caused significant problems for pedestrians, wheelchair and pushchair users and people with disabilities.

“Many local authorities have adopted a hard line approach by enforcing a complete ban on such items and will seek to have them removed.

“However, Wirral Council understands the importance of advertising for local businesses, particularly in the current economic climate, so has taken a more reasonable approach by assessing each case on its own merits.

“The council sets charges to offset the costs of administrating the application and permit system and resourcing highway enforcement, which ensures that people can use the pavements safely and without obstructions.”

© copyright Wirral News. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting

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Tuesday 8 September 2009

Confidential letter from MP urges Wirral planning chief to 'do his duty' over Warrens bid

Wirral Globe - by Leigh Marles

A CONFIDENTIAL letter from a Wirral MP obtained by the Globe urges the chairman of the council's planning committee to "do his duty" over a highly controversial application.

The letter focuses on a bid by Wirral Primary Care Trust for a new GP centre on green belt land at The Warrens in Thingwall.

The application is to be considered by planning officials and councillors on Thursday night.

Written by Stephen Hesford, the constituency's MP who has campaigned for the application to be approved, the letter is addressed to Cllr David Elderton and makes clear the MP's strong views in its opening salvo: "I thought the committee’s decision to turn-down the PCT’s last application in 2007 was seriously wrong."

It goes on to say: "The PCT have sensitively moved the site and I believe that their application is even stronger than last time.

"For your convenience, I enclose a copy of my letter on this issue to the planning committee.

"Moreover, your own planning officials (again) agree with me when they state in the conclusion to their report for councillors on this application 'that the applicant has adequately demonstrated the very special circumstances in line with national and local green belt policy and there is no counter information to dispute their reasons.'

"Finally, I enclose a copy letter written by the GPs in question setting out cogently why they want the Warrens development.

"I know that you will want to respond positively to their request on behalf of their patients.

"In summary, my constituents in Pensby and Thingwall are almost unique throughout the borough in being denied up to date primary care facilities.

"They have waited too long. Please do your duty on Thursday."

The application for the development of a one-stop primary care centre on the site of the former Warrens Nursery in Thingwall Road East, Thingwall, is expected to be given approval.

If given the green light, surgeries in Irby, Thingwall and Heswall would relocate to the centre.

Petitions have been handed in to the planning committee with the names of more than 700 people objecting to the scheme.

More than 600 letters have also been received in support of the plan.

Those against are concerned that the new development would be inaccessible to many, particularly the elderly, and will lead to traffic congestion, pollution and the loss of green belt land.

The planning committee will meet at 6pm this Thursday evening at Wallasey Town Hall, when campaigners from both sides are expected to be out in force.

© copyright Wirral Globe. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting

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Friday 4 September 2009

Wirral council offers teens lessons on how to catch a bus

Birkenhead News - by Kevin Core

WIRRAL Council is offering to spend £300-a-head teaching teenagers how to catch a bus.

Wirral’s “Travel Training” service can be accessed by anyone over 16 and explains paying your fare, getting on a train or bus and of course, how to get off at the right stop.

While opponents can see the benefits for the learning impaired, questions are being asked about the use of the money by a council pushing through a programme of library closures.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “In some rare cases it may well be necessary to help people learn to use public transport, but for most kids formal lessons simply aren’t necessary.

“The vast majority know how to use the bus already, and most others could pick it up from their parents or just through common sense.

“Given Wirral Council’s financial problems, they would be well advised to cut back frivolous spending like this rather than slashing frontline services like libraries.”

The scheme was highlighted at an event held for the council’s partners and voluntary agencies this month.

The course also offers help on dealing with “what ifs” such as a bus running late or missing your stop.

Wirral Transport Users Association (WTUA) questioned why the scheme is open to over-16s without disabilities or language barriers.

John Ryan of WTUA said: “This won’t be any use to the great majority of teenagers who simply learn to use public transport when they get on with their friends or with their parents.

"You could understand it if it was intended to cater for people with learning disabilities but assistance like that would be available elsewhere.

Councillor Jean Quinn, outgoing chairman of Merseyside Strategic Transport Partnership, said: “By increasing people’s ability and confidence to use public transport, we are able to contribute to improving the quality of life and allow people to access a wider range of opportunities whether these are employment, healthcare, education or visiting family, friends or recreation and leisure facilities.”

© copyright Wirral News. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting

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Thursday 27 August 2009

Mayor of Wirral's car caught parked on double yellow lines

Liverpool Echo - by Carrie Catterall

THE Mayor of Wirral has apologised after his car was spotted parked illegally in Birkenhead.

Councillor Andrew Hodson, who presides over a council that employs a spy car to catch errant motorists, has said his driver made "an error in judgement" after he parked on double yellow lines in Old Bidston Road, Birkenhead, at around 2pm on Wednesday.

His grey Jaguar - with the number plate WCM 1M - was spotted by a local businessman who has recently been issued with a ticket from the council’s spy car for illegal parking.

He said: "I am just disgusted that there’s one rule for the mayor and one for the public.

"If the council issues these tickets, then people representing the council should set a good example.

"This whole thing just makes a mockery of parking restrictions."

The Mayoress, Kathy, was alone in car and its driver was standing nearby when Cllr Hodson’s vehicle was snapped.

The Mayor said: "I wasn’t with the car when it was seen parked illegally and I have told my driver that it was a bad error of judgement to park in that way.

"This should never have happened and I have given my driver strict instructions to take more care in future and observe the parking restrictions in any place that we visit."

A spokeswoman for Wirral Council said: "However much we would like to, it is simply illegal for the council to issue a parking ticket based upon a photograph that hasn’t been provided by a parking enforcement officer.

"The council takes its obligations to comply with parking regulations extremely seriously.

"Staff and elected members will be treated no differently to any members of the public.

"The driver has been instructed to ensure that this incident is not repeated and has assured us that it will never happen again."

© copyright Liverpool Echo. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting

Mayor of Wirral apologises after his official car is spotted parked straddling double yellow lines - with pictures

Wirral Globe - by Justin Dunn

THE Mayor of Wirral Councillor Andrew Hodson has apologised after his car was spotted by a Globe reader parked on double yellow lines.

Wirral's first citizen - who presides over a council that employs a 'spy car' to issue tickets to errant motorists - had stopped off at an address in Old Bidston Road, Birkenhead, shortly before 2pm on Wednesday.

His official mayoral grey Jaguar - with the distinctive number plate WCM 1M - was seen by the Globe reader parked up, half on the pavement, straddling the double yellows, as pictured.

The Mayoress, Cllr Hodson's wife Kathy, was alone in the rear of the vehicle. The Mayor's chauffeur was standing nearby, while Cllr Hodson was inside a neighbouring business address.

The reader said: "For a council that hands out parking tickets like Smarties and employs a sneaky spy car to do its dirty work, this was just taking the Mick.

"The Mayor's supposed to set an example. But what would happen if any of us regular motorists copied this?"

Later, the Mayor and Mayoress were attending an event at a school for the blind in Birkenhead.

Today, Cllr Hodson apologised and told the Globe: "It was obviously a bad error of judgement. It should not have happened.

"I have asked my driver to take more care in future and observe the parking restrictions in any place that we visit."

It's understood the Mayor has had "strong words" with his chauffeur.

A spokeswoman for Wirral Council said: "However much we would like to, it is simply illegal for the council to issue a parking ticket based upon a photograph that hasn't been provided by a parking enforcement officer.

"The council takes its obligations to comply with parking regulations extremely seriously.

"Staff and elected members will be treated no differently to any members of the public.

"The driver has been instructed to ensure that this incident is not repeated and has assured us that it will never happen again."

The council's highways boss Dave Green, director of technical services, told the Globe: "A ticket can only be issued if an offence has been observed by a civil enforcement officer or an approved device, such as the Smart car.

"The Mayor and elected members are treated equally as any member of the public, and we have indeed ticketed the Mayor's car in the past.

"This area concerned does not have the surveillance car operating because it is patrolled by civil enforcement officers.

"If residents witness repeated examples of bad parking they can always contact us to send out an officer to their area."

© copyright Wirral Globe. Reproduced under fair use for the dual purposes of comment and news reporting