RE: RESIDENTS STOPPED FROM ASKING QUESTIONS AT FULL COUNCIL MEETING

I have read, with interest articles regarding North Lincolnshire residents being precluded from asking questions to the Leader of the Council at the Full Council Meeting on Tuesday 21st February 2012, supposedly because this was a Budget Meeting.

Now I’m not going to argue that it has been the practice to have questions from members of the public at a Budget Meeting because it quite simply hasn’t.

However for the first time ever this ceased to be just a Budget Meeting as there were no less than four other items including ‘Future Arrangements for the Humber Bridge’, ‘Future Management Structure of the Council’, ‘The Localism Act 2011′ and ‘Council Representation on North Lincolnshire Homes’ on the agenda.

This became a more comprehensive agenda than many ordinary Full Council meetings.

What I would argue is that these items should not have been included and the meeting remained a Budget Meeting not allowing for questions from members of the publc or that they were included, as was the case, and it became more than a Budget Meeting and public questions should have been catered for.

I’m afraid our somewhat devious Tories should not be allowed to pick and choose which parts of the constitution they do and don’t wish to adhere to, to escape legitimate questions from residents.

They can’t have it both ways !

OTHER IMPACTS AT A GLANCE ON SERVICES AS A RESULT OF COUNCIL BUDGET

Continuing from my blogs of yesterday, here are a few other cuts that are likely to impact on services.

£130,000 in cuts to Library Services (despite requests at Full Council the Tories wouldn’t state where these closures would be).

20-21 Visual Arts Centre to be transferred to a trust.

North Lincolnshire Museum to absorb £25,000 of cuts (opening hours ?).

Reduction of opening hours at Leisure Sites to the sum of £40,000.

Council to wash its hands of Bottesford Sports Hall and Scunthorpe Bowls Centre.

£142,000 to be stripped from Normanby Hall.

Sports Facilities to be transferred to Trust

BUDGET LATEST – TORIES PULL FULL FUNDING FROM QUIBELL PARK

Funding to the tune of £3.8 million for investment, redevelopment and essential maintenance to Quibell Park has been completely obliterated as part of the successful budget implemented by North Lincolnshire Tories last night.

This is not just a reduction but a total withdrawal of the funding.

TORIES TO CLOSE DE LACY HOUSE AS PART OF BUDGET PROPOSALS

Following on from last night’s Budget Meeting of North Lincolnshire Council, we’re now brginning to un-earth the nasties that the Tories were not prepared to tell you about in their propoganda exercise.

The closure of De Lacy House at Winterton is earmarked for closure in 2014/2015.

The Tories believe this will make them a saving of £910,000.

This in itself is bad enough but to disguise it as ‘Transformation of Residential Care Services’ is frankly disgusting.

I will continue to update as further issues become apparent.

LABOUR’S CALL FOR FREE BRIDGE TOLL FOR THOSE REQUIRING HOSPITAL TREATMENT ON THE NORTH BANK TURNED DOWN BY RULING TORIES.

In the debate at North Lincolnshire Council’s Full Council regarding the ‘Future Arrangements for the Humber Bridge’, Labour pressed for a fresh clause by officially presenting the following on behalf of those needing hospital treatment and relations visiting loved ones who happen to find themselves in need of such treatment.

“That the newly constituted Humber Bridge Board, as a matter of priority, seeks to implement arrangements whereby those citizens resident on the South Bank of the River Humber, requiring necessary hospital treatment on the North Bank are not required to pay a bridge toll in any event”.

It may come as no surprise that the controlling Tories used their clout to ridicule Labour members, claiming this was nothing more than a ‘Socialist romantic vision’ and that ‘Labour members weren’t living in the real world’.

How strange then that this condition received cross party support in neighbouring North East Lincolnshire.

Needless to say, the ruling Tories used their majority to out vote this request.

SHAMEFUL !

TORIES AWARD TOP STAFF £8,000 A YEAR PAY INCREASE AT THE EXPENSE OF MAKING OTHERS REDUNDANT.

After claiming that the Conservatives would review every job within North Lincolnshire Council over £50,000 the real truth emerged at last night’s Full Council meeting.

A number of officers were lined up for redundancy as identified in the ‘Future Management Structure of the Council’ paper, yet the same paper additionally approved pay increases of up to £8,000 per annum for top officers.

The increase will supplement present salaries of some £97,340 and were described as ‘modest’.

The Conservative Cabinet Member referred to the decisions as being worth every penny.

I take the view that these extreme decisions are hypocritical and an £8,000 increase while others are being made redundant and the majority of public sector workers awarded no increase in their wages to be totally unacceptable.

CONTROVERSY OVER ‘CHAVS’ COMMENTS OFFICER PROMOTION.

New uproar gathers pace as rumours begin to circulate that Tory North Lincolnshire Council have awarded the officer at the centre of the controversial ‘chavs’ comments a promotion.

It is understood that the officer concerned has been successful in securing a substantial pay rise aligned to his new position leading the roll out of Broadband across North and North East Lincolnshire.

It is quite ironic that anyone creating such a scandal on social media is now tasked with taking this technology to the masses.

This leads me to ask one last question, which Conservative Councillors were responsible for this appointment ?

NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL’S AUDIT COMMITTEE HEAVILY CRITICISED BY EXTERNAL AUDITORS.

North Lincolnshire Council’s Audit Committee have been heavily criticised by external auditors for the manner in which it has been constituted and set up.

The Conservative Group on being elected in May 2011 set up an over inflated Audit Committee in a gerrymandering exercise that saw not only the Leader of the Council but her entire Cabinet sitting on the Audit Committee.

The reason – to keep Labour members off other committees to which they were legally entitled to.

The reality – the entire leadership were auditing themselves including the Leader and the Cabinet Member responsible for Finance.

The Conservative answer – the Audit Committee appoints a Sub Committee to deal with issues on it’s behalf thus rendering itself pointless (although the Sub Committe, as with any other, has to reort back and be answerable to its ‘parent’ committe).

It hardly comes as a surprise to anybody with an ounce of common sense, that these underhand Conservative dealings would come under question and criticism sooner or later.

This has come from independent auditors who issued a warning to the Council to this effect.

‘Your constitution allows Sub-Committee meetings with 3 attendees, however, this reduces the Committee’s effectiveness and has the potential to undermine your overall governance arrangements. Chapter 5 of the 2005 CIPFA guidance confirms that audit committees ‘should be independent of the executive and scrutiny functions’. It is a clear principle that audit committee indepndence is a vital part of the governance structure of any organisation and reducing independence weakens internal control’.

The recommendation from external auditors – ‘Members should review the structure, representation and attendance of the Audit Committee’.

Thankfully the Labour Group took a conscious decision not to participate in this sham and questionable practice.

The Conservative Group have a lot to answer for but where was the Chief Executive and his Directors in all this and why did they allow this pactice to be put in place ?

MADNESS AS TORIES REFURBISH PITTWOOD RESTAURANT IN THEIR OWN ROYAL BLUE POLITICAL COLOURS

Seeing is believing, but yes, the Conservative Group on North Lincolnshire Council have refurbished the restaurant at Pittwood House in their own political colours – Royal Blue.

Was there anything wrong with the old furniture – no, nothing at all, it’s in a perfectly good condition (with the exception of the colour of course).

All this at a time when they’re placing people on the dole queue, closing libraries, homes for the elderly etc, etc, etc.

Goodness knows what tomorrow brings.

CLOSURE ! COMING TO A LIBRARY NEAR YOU (Watch out for details)

It appears the Grim Reaper (in the guise of the North Lincolnshire Concservative Group) is ready to wield his scythe once again. This time on libraries in and around Scunthorpe.

The potential victims have been identified as Riddings, Park, Westcliffe and Bottesford.

Is there any justification for this – the answer is quite simply, NO.

However, in the words of Baldrick they have a cunning plan.

Concoct a sham consultation couched in such a fashion that it delivers answers to their advantage and then move in quickly with closure.

Just for the record weren’t these the same people that were falsely claiming library closures whilst in opposition, – sheer hypocrisy.

I’ll finish by saying “don’t say you haven’t been warned” and “watch out for further and future announcements over the coming months”.