Cllr. Geoff Lumley

I was quoted in the CP today on the Council job cuts front page story. For the record the full quote I gave them was,

"Perhaps if the ruling Tories had paid more attention to our last three below inflation alternative Budgets they would be in less of a mess, with more money in Reserves to soften the blows of this economic downturn.

However, they chose to increase Council Tax by more than we would have over the last two years and have frittered away the Reserves they inherited back in 2005.

There is no doubt that the next few years are going to be tough, but with a sensible budgetary strategy we could get through it without having to devastate family incomes or frontline public services. Once again I will be compiling an alternative Budget for next year and I hope that the ruling Group might just listen to me this time."

I think what I said at the end was important.

I see that our usually pretty sensible MP, for all his political peculiarities, is this week defending the indefensible over Concessionary Fares funding. He told the local newspaper that a doubling in Government specific grant funding - by the not insubstantial amount of £890,000 - was 'too little too late'.

I cannot believe that he doesn't see that you cannot claim to Government you are underfunded, when the figure you claim you are underfunded keeps dropping like a stone - see my last post.

If he would like me to show him evidence that this Council is all over the place on this figure he only has to ask. Or is he just keen to keep Tory councillors sweet ahead of next year's General Election ?

Does this Tory Council have any idea what it is doing?

I recall that last year the concessionary fares scheme 'shortfall’ was claimed to be up to £3.8 million, and I have the documents to prove it. Now they are saying it is £3 million – a difference of £800,000. Hardly chicken feed !

No wonder Government doesn’t meet all their demands if they can’t calculate the precise shortfall.

The doubling of Government specific grant for next year (not including the £1m plus they get anyway) – which is what has been awarded – is a result in most people’s book. But not to Island Tories who seem to think taxpayers are a bottomless pit.

Stop moaning IW Council about the claimed ’shortfall’ and just be pleased that you make some sort of contribution – probably a lot smaller than you now claim – to the highly popular concessionary fares scheme. Better than wasting it on other nonsense.

As you can probably tell I'm not sure I'm so enthusiastic blogging these days, but as it was Full Council tonight I suppose there is a public service element of what I write......

After the excitement of closing down all our schools down last month the Tories had the more usual thin agenda for tonight - apart from my motion seeking that the Council support the '10:10' carbon emissions reduction campaign. Sadly they did their usual - brought forward an amendment which sought to reduce emissions by just 4% in 2010. I rejected that, but the amendment was approved by 20 votes (all Tories) to 11, with 3 abstentions. The Tory Whip had done his job again.

Talking of whips I am told by a good source that Tory Group standing orders do not allow individual Tory councillors to speak on matters without the permission of the Whip. That would explain why so few Tory councillors make a contribution at Full Council, with no less than three never having opened their mouths in a debate. I bet they were all going to be 'strong voices' for their communities at the last election......

We then had to approve the membership of the new Ethical Standards Committee - our police force. As all the proposed members were only interviewed by councillors and senior officers I opposed - on my lonesome - as I don't approve of councillors choosing their judge and jury. Let the people decide !

After that it was questions to Cabinet members, with the Liberal group leader asking the Council Leader if I had now been appointed as 'Government Door Opener' after I accompanied the Tories to the meeting with Ed Miliband and they weren't invited. He was accusing me of being in a pact with the Tories over the same issue a couple of weeks ago - which shows just how out of touch the local Liberals were after their crushing defeat in 2005. Without Deborah and I there would have been no opposition whatsoever prior to last June and I still punch at least equal the weight of their five strong group on my own.

In my own question to the Leader I complained how many decisions were not taken by Full Council, but by Cabinet, and he committed to reviewing the Forward Plan for such decisions without making any promises.

At the end when the Liberal group leader was told foolishly by the Children Services Cabinet member to trust her judgement about progress in this area - a 3 star service in 2005, a 2 star service every year since - I asked if this meant that she thought we should listen to her rather than independent outside bodies like Ofsted ? Of course she couldn't confirm that, but hopefully it will stop us being patronised in the future.

All over by 8.20pm and an early return home.

IW meeting with the Sec. of State for Energy & Climate Change yesterday went well. He was clearly keen to get alternative green jobs into the IW asap, after I made yet another plea for positive Govt. action for the IW's social and economic regeneration post-Vestas.

Development of tidal energy in the Solent, and a scheme for 'rotawave' technology, potentially delivering at least 300 Island jobs, will be subject to further urgent Govt. expert investigation before support grants are made available. He will also look into Govt. support to upgrade some of the available wharfage on the Medina river, which is integral to much of the renewables agenda.

He was quizzical about the Island's absence of any onshore windfarm and stressed this had been a real niggle for Vestas when they decided to shut down blade production.

He wants to be kept in the picture about a possible offshore blade production that has recently come into the picture, with the potential for 1000 jobs.

Overall he was very supportive and he thanked me afterwards for keeping him well advised on the post Vestas situation.

Finally, contrary to the CP's hysterical headline today the decision to insist on an environmental impact assessment for the Ventnor Golf Club wind turbine application was NOT made by him, but by some official at GOSE. When he was told of this yesterday he was aghast and will be looking into it urgently. Good journalism might have checked with his office before condemning him. However, that would require balance.......

Since last week's schools decisions, I have been entirely focused on the Pan development planning application, which was at last lodged on 25 September. This is the biggest planning application on the Island in a generation - over 850 homes in the next 10-15 years - and if you didn't realise how important it was to the Council beforehand you certainly would if you saw the staggering pile of documents !

Anyway my work is now cut out advising local residents who might have comments or objections to make as the Council hurries headlong through what would be a record-breaking 8 week decision-making. The IWC Planning Committee is likely to consider the application in late November/early December.

Today government minister Jonathan Shaw MP, Minister for the South East (pictured with me), was on the Island and he popped over to Pan for a briefing on the development he was last briefed about in May last year. He later told me he was surprised that a brick still hadn't been laid, but he was delighted that we may now be getting a little closer to providing the much-needed 250+ affordable homes for Island families.

It was also very interesting how keen two Tory cabinet councillors were to meet a real government minister.......... I suppose after the Shadow Chancellor yesterday announced to the Tory Conference how if they ever get elected ordinary people would be paying pretty exclusively for the bank bailout, they have realised that the prospect of a Tory government minister visiting the Island has edged a little further away than it was beforehand........

I received today the leadership's report on the secondary school competition process for next weeks Full Council. They are recommending that:

Medina Innovation Trust - run the Medina/Fairlee and Carisbrooke Secondary schools as Trust schools;

Cowes Pathfinder Trust - run Cowes Secondary School as a Trust school;

and Academies Enterprise (with Vestas support, 'God' help them) - run Sandown and Ryde Secondary Schools as Academies.

I will oppose the latter. It will be bad news in the long run for parents and young people on the east side of the Island.

I had a break last week, after a week when I had all the symptoms of swine flu and was coughing like a chain smoker ! Of course I gave up 3.5 years ago - and have never felt worse sometimes......

Anyway I had some good news today when I learnt that Ed Miliband (right) has agreed to meet the IW Council leadership to talk about the Vestas closure, alternative renewable energy strategies for the Isle of Wight, and alternative employment opportunities. This in reponse to their helpful letter to him last month - itself a response to the Council motion on Vestas that I initiated at the end of July. It is likely they will ask me along as well.

I have been badgering Miliband's office for a positive response to the meeting request for a few weeks now. Hopefully this will now do the Island some good.

After the all the protests about school reorganisation between 2004-2008, something far more dangerous in my view could be about to take place for our school system with little disturbance.

The Conservative leadership of the IW Council last year decided not to seek to run the newly-designated Secondary Schools at Carisbrooke, Cowes, Medina-Fairlee, Ryde and Sandown. Instead they decided to invite applications to run the schools as either arms-length Trusts or (far more worryingly) independent Academies using taxpayers money.

In June the Council received at least two applications from such organisations to run each of the planned Secondary Schools from September 2010. A decision will be made between the bidders for each school at a full meeting of the IW Council on 30 September; then to be confirmed at a Cabinet meeting the following evening. The Council could decide that none of the bids are what they want and to re-run the competition, but that is hardly likely given the now tight timetable for reorganisation.

We all had a chance to hear from the bidders at public meetings last July, with the closing date for comments now passed. These will hopefully inform the decison-making process, though most of the meetings were sparsely attended.

Having looked at the bids in detail myself and heard presentations from each of the bidders to councillors today, I have no doubt in my mind that I do not want our Secondary Schools run as unaccountable Academies using our taxes. Particularly (but not exclusively) when the bidder who wants to run all five Secondary Schools as academies (Academies Enterprise Trust) is partnered with a company who have shown in my opinion such contempt for the Isle of Wight community in recent months - Vestas Technology.

I also oppose in general the idea of Trust schools. Indeed I resigned as a governor of Medina High last year when it chose to create its Trust in readiness for this competition. However, Trusts would be immensely more preferable to the academy bids because at least they are rooted in our Island community rather than in Essex, Guildford or London.

Between now and 30 September I want to urge everyone who is concerned about the future of our Secondary Schools to contact their local IW councillor and urge them to oppose the academy bids, and to support the trust bids. That way we can be sure that our secondary schools are in some degree locally managed and accountable.

If we don't do this it undermines all our arguments to keep other public services, such as the Fire Service, managed on the Island.

Finally the legislation that allows for this schools competition for our 'new' Secondary Schools was brought in by the current Government. It only secured a majority in Parliament thanks to the votes of Conservative MPs in the face of a rebellion by 52 Labour MPs. As you can guess I supported the rebels....

I think this Press Release from the Council is worthy of posting on my blog. Almost precisely what was discussed between the ex-workers and the Council leadership on 17th August:

"MP and Council tell SEEDA: apply stringent conditions to Vestas

The Island's MP and the Isle of Wight Council Leader have called for safeguards to be put in place to ensure that a brand new Vestas facility, to be supported with substantial public money, provides long-term benefits to the local economy.

On behalf of the Island community, Andrew Turner MP and Cllr David Pugh have written to the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), requesting that the site of the recently closed manufacturing plant at St Cross be released by Vestas before public money is used to support their new Research & Development facility at Stag Lane, which is currently owned by SEEDA.

The letter follows final confirmation that Vestas is to close its UK production facilities at St Cross - with a loss of over 400 jobs on the Island.

Mr Turner and Cllr Pugh also urge SEEDA and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to ensure that their proposed £6m grant funding to Vestas will be subject to appropriate conditions, to demonstrate that this public investment would be to the long-term benefit of the Island's economy.

Their letter to SEEDA Chief Executive Pam Alexander states: "We are increasingly concerned at the lack of jobs available for the highly skilled workforce which has been made redundant.

"Whilst we welcome the proposed jobs for the R&D facility at Stag Lane, we are concerned that Vestas appear reluctant to release the St Cross site for alternative use.

"There are a number of firms interested in expanding renewable energy technology on the Island and we consider that the vacated St Cross premises offer potential for the location of this work, with the possibility of providing alternative employment for the redundant workers, which is something we all want to achieve."

The MP and the council also highlight the shortage of wharves on the Island available for current and future economic development. Under current plans Vestas will have use - in some cases exclusive use - of three of only five sites on the River Medina capable of handling seagoing cargos when the Stag Lane site is complete.

"We consider that there is an urgent need to review the availability of wharves and we are keen to explore with SEEDA how to best secure their long-term accessibility for the benefit of the Island's economy, rather than a single company," the letter states.

"There is a real danger that Vestas may wish to hold their present sites, with associated wharves, to the exclusion of others, while their activities are reduced to a token presence providing only limited employment. This would be inappropriate given the considerable investment from public funds that has gone into both sites."

The MP and the council call on SEEDA to consider a right of way for general use from Stag Lane to the Cement Mills wharf, and to consider a similar set-up for their land at Venture Quays (East Cowes), which is also currently used by Vestas.

On the issue of the proposed £6m investment, the letter states: "We would welcome the public announcement of certain key conditions of the public investment, such as the number of jobs that will be created and outline details about any clawback conditions."

The council and Island MP have requested a meeting with SEEDA to discuss their concerns in advance of the terms for the Stag Lane facility being finalised."

The Council acting, incontrovertibly for once, in the interests of the entire Island community. Well done !

Guess which company said of one of the prime bidders to run our five reorganised local Secondary Schools (Cowes, Carisbrooke, Medina, Ryde & Sandown) as academies from 2010,

"(We are) committed to helping raise educational standards on the Island and to supporting sustainable schools. We would in particular like to encourage the education curriculum to further students' understanding of the planet from the sustainability perspective and to explore the options we have to live sustainably."

Not hard. The delightful Vestas of course, who's understanding of sustainability is driven entirely by the greed for excessive profit above all else.

With just two days left of the consultation period I hope as many Islanders as possible object to this bid based on the dodgy support they have sought. With friends like them do we really want them running our schools ?

See http://eduwight.iow.gov.uk/schools/reorganisation/2competit.asp

The meeting I set up today between the IW Council leadership and three of the sacked Vestas occupiers went pretty well. So much so that we had Tory councillors wearing the support the Vestas workers 'green ribbons' at the end and saying they thought workforces like Vestas should be unionised !!!!!! The blessed Margaret would drown in her electric bath at that.

An official statement will be issued tomorrow, but the Council pledged to continue seeking alternative wind and other renewable technology companies for the Island and I will continue to press for a positive response from Government to the Council's letter of last week.

Tonight I went to my first Cabinet of the new Council. It was a special one to approve the Outline Business Case for the Highways PFI, where the Council hope to be granted from Government £400m over the next 25 years to fund a contract with a private outfit, in return for maintaining their current expenditure on highways (£10.5m) over each of those years. All subject to inflation of course. By my reckoning that means the government is putting in £137 million net, at current day prices.

I have always welcomed the bid in the absence of any other plausible means of getting our highways network up to scratch and consider it to b e a damn good deal from our Labour Government.

The Council Leader agreed with me as he did not want to be churlish. This is getting worrying ! Wightlink, members allowances, a Vestas response, now Highways PFI - agreement from the Tories on all four in just two months of this Council......

It was a shame though that such an significant decision was not made at Full Council - even if it is August - rather than by the six members of the Cabinet with just FIVE other Councillors present - and none from the LibDem group. Nothing ever changes.......

All the lobbying of Ed Miliband by Island Labour members including myself, Mark Chiverton, and Deborah Gardiner over the last few weeks drew some positive words from his deputy Joan Ruddock at a meeting with two Vestas workers and the RMT today in London.

Ms Ruddock told the guys that redundancy payments should be reinstated for the sacked workers who occupied/still occupy the plant, that redundancy payments for all 600 should be improved, and that the Government will not abandon the Island even if Vestas have. The proof of course will be in the pudding, though in my view this is the least the government could have told them and anything less from Vestas will show them as the ethically deficient company they clearly are.

I was tickled to notice today up at the plant that the typically opportunistic IW Liberal banner that was displayed on the fencing a week ago has been removed. A consequence I am told of the Simon Hughes visit earlier this week. Bring more of the Liberal leaders down to the Island I say, so that they can be exposed as the charlatans they are.