BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR

This blog has now completed its second complete calendar year - 2.67 years in total. In 2007 I have posted 178 times - 166 more than the other IW Council related blog ! That's a post every two days and I hope my readers have found them reasonably interesting and informative.....

I had 14,566 page hits throughout the year - a 10% increase on last year - an average of 40 per day; and 5,878 new visitors to add to the 5,148 I had at the start of the year = 11,026 different visitors over the year - an annual increase of 114%. I suppose I am still providing some sort of service.....at least you get the truth here, not just spin.

At this time last year I said that I was doubtful if I would continue as Scrutiny Chair past April. I was only one month out, being compelled to resign in May due to Tory lies and deceit. Nothing much changes !

Consequently I have had more time to concentrate on the people who put me in County Hall - not that I was neglecting them before - and I hope I am still an effective and assiduous councillor for Pan. The indications are that I am. Also more time for Newport as a whole, where I have continued as the Town Management Committee Chair for a second year, and am looking forward to elections for a Newport Town Council in May.

Nationally the Brown honeymoon has lead into a very poor 3 months after the 'snap election' nonsense. However, I am remain confident that the British people are not daft enough to fall for the Cameron con and that Labour will revive its fortunes.

Best wishes for the New Year to all my readers.

MERRY XMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR

To all my readers - my very best wishes for Christmas and hopes for a peaceful new year.

TIME FLIES

I just realised its a week since I blogged. Its been one of those weeks where I haven't had time to sit at the computer and think malevolent thoughts about this Council ! Maybe its something to do with the spirit of the season ?

Looking back - as one tends to do at this time of the year - I am slightly taken aback to realise that I have now been blogging here, on a reasonably regular basis, for three Xmases. No matter what you think about it that's a real feat of stamina as so many blogs tail off after a few months or are hardly ever updated. I can think of one that has had 12 posts in the last 12 months. I'll tell you in a week's time how may there have been here and how many visitors I have had. I think you will be impressed.

ANOTHER TORY JUMPS SHIP !

Just learnt that former Cabinet member Melanie Swan has resigned from the Tory Group. No idea why yet, but not that surprised.

So from the 35 Tories that were elected in 2005 they have lost two - Swan and Mosdell; ejected another - Whittaker; and banned from all committees another 5 - Sutton, Joyce, Bishop, Churchman and Peacey-Wilcox. On the 'positive' side they gained Mazillius who was a Tory anyway, but was elected as an 'Independent'.

What with the Liberals losing two of their group - Chapman and Bowker - Labour is the only Group that has been stable throughout. Its called being principled and comradely !

A LITTLE ROAD RELIEF ?

At the Pan Neighbourhood Partnership board meeting last night there was continuing disquiet at the absence of any Council intentions for a proper Relief Road as part of the Pan development when they go for planning permission next year. A Relief Road that would take rat-running out of Pan and away from Coppins Bridge.

I reminded resident board members that it was the Council Cabinet that took the decision not to have a Relief Road mainly due to the financial effect - less return for them on sale of the land - despite my support and (more importantly) the Island MP's.

Quite understandably there is an increasing feeling on Pan that the Council leadership are not interested in LISTENING to the views of Pan residents. I get the strong feeling that the planning process isn't going to be as smooth as the Council need it to be......

WHAT A SHAMBLES !

Tonight's Full Council was a total shambles - badly organised, badly prepared, and badly chaired.

Called as a special meeting to put to bed the Undercliff Final Report this should have been a professionally organised event by the administration, but after tonight's performance brewers have very little to fear.

The Council leadership were seemingly astounded to find there was opposition concern about the non-role of the District Auditor throughout this saga, and were particularly surprised that one LibDem had bothered to compile a list of those concerns with the intention of incorporating them into the Report's recommendations as an amendment.

It caused havoc in their ranks and the meeting had to be adjourned whilst they worked out their position - that is the Cabinet (excluding Cousins and Hunter-Henderson), the Chief Exec, and the Wragg & Co. solicitor who is seemingly still on call. They decided they were against the Liberal amendment and proceeded to vote it down by 22 votes to 6 (Knowles, Adams, Mosdell, Stephens, Gardiner and me) and 1 abstention- yes, there were about 18 (37.5%) of the Council missing tonight, mainly Tories - under-investigation and not.

The Tories then had to cobble together an amended recommendation accepting the Report for the Council, which saw another adjournment - even though much of it was just basic tidying up of their original proposal. This prompted the departure of the only journalist present, probably in disgust, which is probably just as well. This amendment went through 24 to 4 (Knowles, Adams, Gardiner and me) with 2 abstentions - and we awaited the substantive debate on the Final Report.

And waited, and waited, and waited.......for the Chairman had decided that the vote on the last amendment constituted the final decision on the Final Report, so it went through without any real analysis of its serious deficiencies. Despite mine and Deborah's protestations. You would be lynched at some trade union meetings for such ineffectual chairing.

And that was basically it apart from the latest bout of constitutional tinkering with Scrutiny, the minutes silence at the beginning in memory of the recently deceased former Tory councillor Roy Westmore, and lots of public questions about the Chapel Street/Trafalgar Road debacle - which were answered most unsatisfactorily.

DETAILS OF IW COUNCIL RESERVES

OVERALL IW COUNCIL RESERVES & BALANCES 2007-08: (from public Scrutiny Committee last week)

1st column shows the reserves the Council leadership started with on 1.4.07, spread across lots of different pots;

2nd column shows how much each will be reduced by this financial year. 'Education' spending is good - 'Org Dev Reserve' is bad > where the Undercliff enquiry etc was funded from;

3rd column represents a tidying up of all the pots of money so that £14.372m can be put into the General Reserve. This is uncommitted money;

4th column shows the total in Reserves at the end of March 2008. Only the £16.427m is generally uncommitted - unless the 'doubtful debts' are chased up more actively !!!

Overall you can see that the TOTAL reserves have been reduced this year by nearly £8m.

Scrutiny is now seeking similar details for the previous two financial years.

LABOUR GOVERNMENT GENEROUS TO IW COUNCIL....AGAIN

Although there has been absolute silence from their Westminster City Council-based communications operation, last Thursday the IW Council found out that it will get a 6.3% increase next year in its Revenue Support Grant. That's 2% above the norm for local authorities like us, and 3% above inflation.

It was the same last year, when they received similar generosity - a 6.1% increase.

This means that the IW Council Tory Group can once again restrict Council Tax increases next year to inflation if they want, and still have some growth in service delivery.

LOBBY FODDER

Last night was the first Scrutiny Committee under Cllr Miller. I quite enjoyed it (!), and a lot of useful stuff was learnt, particularly about the Council's Reserves (of which more at a later date).

The committee now seems to be three very distinct groups - 1. those who want to hold the administration to account (me, the Liberal, the 3 co-optees, and the 2 parent school governors on education matters); 2. the two independents including Cllr Miller, uncertain whether to be critical or friendly; and 3. the Tories who made no worthwhile contribution last night and are there purely as lobby fodder.

There are only 4 Tories at present due to a cockup with all their recent sackings, but they will be back to a majority after next week's Full Council with the addition of one person so close to the Cabinet it is entirely unethical for them to be Scrutiny members.

The agenda last night included the Budget & Reserves, and school standards. Astonishingly the Tories had nothing worthwhile to say on these two fundamentally important topics ! Clear evidence that they are not interested in Scrutiny - just interested in stopping the committee making critical recommendations to the Cabinet.

When I got home afterwards something struck me. If I and one or two others hadn't been there the meeting would have had little credibility. Something to ponder over the next few weeks........

CART BEFORE THE HORSE

The IW Council is seeking a national award for regeneration work at Pan before it has achieved a thing itself.

In my view anything successful that has been achieved in Pan over the last 3 years has been down to the Pan Neighbourhood Partnership (PNP), the Police, Medina Housing Assoc., or me (in a very small way). None of these are IW Council services.

The time for awards should be once something has been achieved with the Pan development for local people. Something I am not convinced will happen just yet.

UNDER MAINLAND CONTROL

This week a new Chair of Medina HA will be appointed by the massive mainland Group - Spectrum Housing - that now controls it.

Despite there being no rules to stop such an application, and no contrary guidance from the regulating Housing Corporation, my own entirely credible application was blocked by Spectrum - by decision of their Group Board at a meeting in Christchurch, Dorset, early last month. They blocked me because they do not think that I am or can be 'independent' of the IW Council, because I am an IW Councillor and a Council nominee onto their subsidiary Medina Board !

I consider that to be both a ridiculous and an insulting assertion. However, I have not taken this any further as it would just take up too much of my valuable time challenging it.

Nonetheless I consider this to be a deeply worrying development in the sensitive balance between the Spectrum Group and its Medina subsidiary. Medina is the largest landlord for rented, social housing on the Island, and from my councillor point of view is the landlord to 40% plus of Pan households. And yet, decisions about how its governed here on the Island are now made in Christchurch by people who do not know the IW. That's is why the current Chair is standing down.

I thought I was a person who could redress the imbalance a little, but Spectrum have now made sure that cannot happen.

"MORE PUTIN THAN PUGH "!

So remarked a fellow Member when telling me of how the Tories now intend to further emasculate the new Scrutiny Committee.

A rule change will go to Full Council next week that will allow Tory office-holders that are currently banned from Scrutiny, due to their role in supporting the Cabinet's policy-making, to be members of the Scrutiny Committee. So we will see two Tory Policy Commissioners and the Cabinet Secretary for Town & Parish Councils on the Scrutiny Committee in the new year. Putin would be impressed indeed ! Next thing you know there will be Cabinet Members involved - though the Council's website still suggests there is - some 3 months after the coup !

Nonetheless, little effective scrutiny is likely to be done in the remaining 18 dog-months of this appalling Council. Performance management is also to be dumped onto the Committee, and that can take up much of a public meeting if done properly.