BLOG BREAK

I' m taking a little break from blogging for the next 3 weeks ! Don't miss me too much....

FIRST SCRUTINY REPORT - WIGHTCARE

The first enquiry of the Scrutiny Committee since May 2005 - into Wightcare - has concluded and is now in the public domain. I have commented,

"This enquiry is about a matter of significant public interest and the three of us who lead this enquiry have come to the conclusion that any transfer of Wightcare homecare should be deferred for the next year to allow a full business Review and service-user consultation to take place. We have consequently recommended that the Council leadership re-prioritise their expenditure in Adult Services to achieve this deferral, which we consider achievable if there is the political will to accept our report.

The Report has been submitted to Cllr Cousins, Cabinet Member for Care, Health & Housing, and I hope she and the rest of the Cabinet will welcome it and take on board the recommendations as soon as possible."

GHOSTS OF LIBERAL PAST !

Full Council tonight and it was like one of those fifties zombie movies ! The public gallery was stuffed with failed and largely unlamented ex-Liberal councillors - all there to see the appointment (by the Tories, as no one else was consulted) of one of their own as the new Chairman of the Council. It was a real 'rogue's gallery' - reinforcing why they had their electoral debacle last year. Still at least the rump of them left recently got their act together at last and formed a proper group; with good old Henry as leader...

Most of the meeting was pretty tedious, though there was a Cabinet re-shuffle of sorts announced by the Council leader - with the care and child protection elements of Children's Services moved from Patrick Joyce to Dawn Cousins (contradicting the government's Every Child Matters philosophy), and a thunderous looking Tim Hunter-Henderson dumped with much of Jilly Wood's previous portfolio on top of all the rest he holds, so that she can mess around with parish councils.

I was re-appointed as Chair of Scrutiny for another year and consequently went home at the end to work on finishing off our Wightcare scrutiny enquiry report, whilst the 'zombies' joined most councillors at a 'reception'.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS STILL UNDER REVIEW ?

Very interesting exchange at Cabinet tonight between my colleague Cllr Gardiner and the Council leadership over the Tory's commitment to retaining middle schools. The Council leader had recently given an absolute commitment to their retention after making it a (successful) election issue last year.

Deborah asked for that commitment again, got it from the leader, and then pointed out that this contradicted what they had told the Schools Minister, when summoned to Westminster on 15 Feb this year to explain what they were doing to address educational under-performance. The notes of that ministerial meeting, which she had obtained from the DfES, reported that the Council leaders had said "they were exploring a gradual move to 0-7, 7-11 and 11-16 provision" (which of course is not what we have now) "which could provide efficiencies as well as supporting standards".

This caused quite some consternation at the Cabinet table and lots of bluster about ensuring parents were consulted about any future changes, if there were to be any. Which of course is what everyone would want!

The beauties of Freedom of Information - brought in by a Labour government......

MORE TO LIFE THAN MONEY ?

After the announcement by the Tory national leader that "there are more things to life than money" I wonder if this welcome philosophy will now permeate to our local Tory Council - who know the price of everything, but little of the value ? A real pity that "we get this Gradgrindian lot just at a time when the national Tories go all caring and fluffy on us", as my Labour colleague Deborah Gardiner remarked !

BUDGET SHORTFALL

Further to my previous postings on the required efficiences for this year's Budget (May 9th).

Seems that there is still a fair amount to find after all, despite the claim of it all being 'sorted'. Somewhere in the region of £2.5 million at least.

And they still claim there won't be cuts in frontline services ?????

TORIES FOIST ONE OF THEIRS ON ME AS SCRUTINY VICE CHAIR

Seemingly because of critical comments about their budget on this blog and in Labour campaign literature, and perhaps because the CPA inspectors have now disappeared for a while, I have now had the Tories on the Scrutiny Committee foisting one of their own unelected co-optees on to me as Vice Chair.

Despite assurances when the CPA inspectors were here that the opposition members on the committee would be able to elect their own Vice Chair - someone to help me with the Chair's job - last Thursday the Tory members outvoted the opposition choice in favour of their own co-optee. So much for 'opposition control', but I will make sure this this change in approach is made known.

Perhaps they will now get rid of me as Chair at next week's Annual Council ? That would be their best step if they are feeling so defensive, because I can assure them that they haven't seen any real criticism yet !

'SUPERCOUNCILLOR SUTTON' APPEARS AT SCRUTINY

This afternoon saw the Scrutiny Committee. Went reasonably well with some tough questioning of the Care, Health & Housing Cabinet Member on the proposed Wightcare privatisation. However, there was 'Supercouncillor Sutton' along to ride shotgun and to help out when there were difficulties. I hope this isn't a sign of the future. We either have a Cabinet or its a case of the 'Man with Seven Portfolios' and we just ask him along for all enquiries ! Now to put our Report together.....

Interestingly there were a dozen or so members of the public present - some from Wightcare - and the County Press, but not a single councillor other than those on the Committee or called before it. Must be a good dinner tonight !!!

KEEPING ON KEEPING ON....

I'm aware that my blog has been a little unexciting lately, but there has been little to say that is particularly noteworthy and something I can report...

Last week saw the CPA inspection conclude, with the report due out in August. The inspectors have probably fallen for all the flannel, such is the return anyone would expect from all the resources thrown at the inspection over the last few months.

This week sees my second Scrutiny Committee as Chair - equaling the record for a Chair of this committee, but in only 2 months - not the 5 months my predecessor had ! We have Cllr Cousins coming along to answer questions on the proposed Wightcare privatisation, which will be an interesting session. I then have to draw the enquiry to a conclusion by 26 May. We also have the Council Leader along to tell us what happened to the 'strategic partnering' business case.

The meeting is at 4pm - yes 4pm, irony of ironies - as someone saw fit to organise an 'end of term' dinner for the Council Chairman that evening without checking the Council calendar. Talk about 'silo' working ! It wouldn't have affected me, but some of the committee wanted to show their regard for the Chairman. So we got an 'exceptional circumstances' time change. Of course this will mean there are less ordinary people there to observe the meeting.

A RECENT COMMENT

The comment placed on my last post just needs to have attention drawn to it - so here it is:

Have it on the highest authority that they’re going to sell County Hall and Seaclose, redevelop Sea Street, and meet in a marquee on one of Barry Abrahams’ fields; Housing services will be privatized, and run by Hoogstraten Services Inc (“Quality Services – Only British Thugs Employed”); Schools will be run by the Elim Pentecostal Church, from their shed at Coppins Bridge, in return for minor influence on the curriculum – it won’t matter, because God loves YOU!; and roads will just be allowed to crumble, thus saving on bus subsidies, ending coach travel, and, incidentally, stopping the working classes from moving about.

I think you’ll find this is all perfectly sensible when you come to think about it, and the model for local councils throughout the country. It will be marvellous for tourism, because people won’t need to go abroad anymore to see what a third world economy is really like; and our young people will be able to take advantage of the enormous opportunities opened up for prostitution and drug trafficking by the arrival of the international jet-set as they pour into Sutton International Airport at Sandown.

In preparation for this, I am investing in a smock and begging bowl: it is my duty to play my part in Isle of Wight regeneration by really throwing myself into the role of Village Idiot plc, and I hope our others are not going to be backward in coming forward in these days of exciting opportunity by any kind of curmudgeonly reluctance to seize the new future.

Aim high! Such is our creed (I have tried this, but there is a problem with splash-back......)

EFFICIENCIES ? WHAT EFFICIENCIES ?

My world is sometimes surreal ! Last week I was told by a leading Cabinet member that Deborah and I had the wrong end of the stick in claiming the Council has to make £6m worth of budget efficiencies this financial year. I was told not to worry (my little head ?), they had already been made as part of the 'sorting out' of the inherited previous year's budget.

Well I went away- not feeling re-assured, more puzzled. I dug out the Budget resolution agreed last February by this Council and noted that yes, this budget is predicated on £6m of efficiencies being in place - though where they were is another question.

However, the same resolution also had a Council Tax projection for the next 3 years. This shows that far from anyone being re-assured, the efficiencies required for this year amount to £4.3m, for next year £9.6m, and for March 2009 - just before the next elections - £13.7m. A massive total of £27.6 MILLION !

And I am supposed to be re-assured ???????????????

PAN BUS MEETING GOES WELL

My public meeting last night went pretty well, though nothing has really changed. About 80 local people turned up, the vast majority of whom - but not all - are unhappy at the new double-decker service.

Marc Morgan Huws of Southern Vectis bravely accepted my invitation. He explained why SV want to use the Furrlongs route, and an officer of the Public Transport section of the Council then explained that buses (under existing legisaltion) can basically go where they like if the service is not a subsidised one - as this one isn't. There were then loads of questions, comments and criticisms and Marc was left in no doubt as to majority local opinion - as reflected in my quick, 400-signature petition last month.

Pleas to change the service to single-decker were made by most present and maybe SV will listen to them next September when the next timetable comes out.

I wrapped up the meeting by urging SV to change to a single-decker service and pledged to continue lobbying SV about this in the months to come.

Feedback from attendees has been very positive today as they were pleased to get the opprtunity to voice their concerns personally.

INSPECTORS QUIZ ME ON MORALE

Met with one of the CPA inspectors yesterday. Wanted to know all about the Scrutiny debacle pre-April and what my priorities for the Island are - real, well paid jobs; real affordable housing; real educational improvement; and real sustainable and intregrated transport options. I used the word REAL a lot! He seemed approving of my post-April Scrutiny agenda, and I pointed out the administration could have had that from last November.

Was also very interested - entirely unprompted by me - in staff morale issues. Gave him my perspective. This seems to be a quite a theme....

Told him this was the most overtly political administration at County Hall in a generation.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Tomorrow I will be meeting with the the Council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment assessors. Should be interesting....

PAN BUS MEETING

Wednesday sees my public meeting on Pan about the unpopular new bus service through the estate. The meeting takes place at Downside Middle School at 7pm, and I have Marc Morgan Huws along from Southern Vectis to answer questions and hear concerns, as well as a Highways officer.