WASTING POLICE TIME.....

So the Council's referral of the internal Undercliff enquiry 'evidence' to the Police last autumn has resulted in no further actions, due to 'insufficient evidence' of criminal activity or corruption.

So that's £2million of public money wasted by the Council and who knows how much of the Police budget spent on a pointless referral.

Someone suggested to me that it should be the Council which is the subject of a Police enquiry for wasting Police time.........

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Even though everyone is innocent until proven guilty, last summer the Council Leader said when four Tory councillors were referred for a Standards Board enquiry,

"I will now need to carefully consider whether any action needs to be taken in relation to these members while they are under investigation, to ensure the public have continued confidence in us and our commitment to working to the highest standards in public life."

After consideration he threw them all off committees or any other positions they had. The same was done to a fifth Tory member who was added to the Standards enquiry. It appeared that he was being consistent. However...........

This week we learnt that his Tory Cabinet sidekick and another Tory member with some special reponsibility - Wells and Webster - were also to be investigated by the Standards Board. When I asked generally would this mean similar treatment by the Leader, I was advised,

"I do not believe that they will be found to be in breach of the Code (of Conduct)."

I thought he was the Council Leader, not the Grand Inquisitor -dispensing personal justice!

REFLECTIONS ON A BAD NIGHT

After last week's Full Council I cleared off to Cornwall for the last 6 days, so did not have time to post my usual report here. Sadly even after 6 days the events of last week have left a very, very bad taste.

The details of the meeting are now well known - the last minute tabling of an Option 5 by the 'leadership' as I suggested on the afternoon of the meeting (a sort of lighter touch Option 3 - 2 tiers with less school closures), the loss of the referendum amendment, and the final agreement to Option 5.

The voting was as follows:

Referendum Motion LOST by 17 - 28 - the 17 being Gardiner, Lumley (both Labour), Swan, Mosdell, Joyce, McRobert, Churchman, Bishop (unwhipped Tories), Foster, Humby, Stephens (independents), Chapman, Bowker (ex LibDems), Adams (LibDem), Arnold, Ward, Peacey-Wilcox (Tory rebels) - the 26 of the 28 against being Tories (including Whittaker now back in their fold), plus Hancock (independent) and Knowles (LibDem). The other LibDem - Price - was missing again, as was Miller (independent) for personal reasons.

LibDem amendment to Option 5 LOST by 2 - 42 - mainly because it was entirely pointless - much like LibDemmery as a political philosophy. Interesting that their new parliamentary candidate appeared to have given this meeting a wide berth.......

Vote on Option 5 was AGREED by 27 -17 - the same line-ups as the Referendum vote, but with Foster having left and Knowles (LibDem) now swapping sides.

So the only remaining executive LibDem from the last Council - Knowles - finally won on 2-tier schools as the Tories decided to throw away all the goodwill they secured at the 2005 elections from their opposition to 2-tier. And this despite the behaviour of the LibDem rump on this night being manifestly shambolic......

Best contribution of the night was from Melanie Swan in moving the referendum motion. The bad taste I still feel was partly to do with the ignorant and ill-judged attack on me by the so-called Council Chairman right at the end of the education debate as he hasn't the intelligence to recognise humour when it is used.

And after all the disruption this has caused ? The Chief Executive - who seemed to find the entire Full Council proceedings hysterically funny - announced he had got a new job even though he has always denied previously he was looking elsewhere. So its 2 years rather than 4 years.......

.........as ever - you couldn't make it up.........

BACK TO THEIR OLD HABITS

One of the few good things about the Pugh administration was their new transparency about Budget setting; something I applauded. Its a shame that the same transparency isn't being shown for tonight's Full Council debate on schools reorganisation.

Apparently the Council Leader is intending to propose a policy Motion tonight, without giving any notice as should constitutionally be required, that the Council Chairman believes (as he is privy to these plans despite supposedly being neutral in his role),

"I am sure (the impact of change) will be more than satisfactorily addressed by the Motion to be moved by the Leader of the Council".

Of course many of us will only see this Motion tonight, thus giving us no time to consider and consult. But what do the Tory Leadership care ? They have the votes in the bag no matter what I think, so my quibbles don't amount to anything.

NODDING DOGS ?

My latest press release:

"The Labour member of the Council's Scrutiny Committee is questioning the committee's effectiveness.

Cllr Geoff Lumley's doubts have been brought to a head by a recent Cabinet member delegated decision to merge ABK and Trinity Middle Schools ahead of the Council's current school reorganisation proposals. Cllr Lumley made extensive written representations to the Cabinet member (Cllr Wells) ahead of this decision, seeking its deferral. However, the decision was made without any response being made to Cllr Lumley's representations. Something that has never happened before in the light of delegated decision representations. The decision was then made by Cllr Wells in private and without any accountability.

Consequently Cllr Lumley then sought the support of three of the other non-Conservative Scrutiny Committee members (seven in total) to 'call in' the decision to a special committee meeting to hold the cabinet member to account. By the deadline of 5pm yesterday only two (Cllrs Miller & Humby) had signed up to the call-in. Without four signatories there can be no 'call in'. Late support from Cllr Foster, who had been unavailable the previous week, was ruled out.

Cllr Lumley said, "Last November the newly constituted and Tory controlled Scrutiny Committee received a stern talking to about misuse of the 'call-in' process on delegated decisions without prior representations being made. So in this and other cases I now ensure I make prior representations when I am unhappy about a proposed decision. Before now I always get a response before the decision is made, but not in this case. Subsequently not getting sufficient support from the other 'opposition' and co-opted members on the committee for a 'call in' is very disappointing. Sadly it is a manifestation of how irrelevant the Scrutiny Committee has become since it was reconstituted without opposition control." "

THE NEXT GENERATION TO LOSE THEIR COUNCIL PLACES ?

I went along to the Save Our Schools demo yesterday. Considering the weather and how long this campaign has had to keep a head of steam up, I think getting about 500 plus there was terrfic. The Tory MP was there at the start, as was the Labour parliamentary candidate Mark Chiverton, and the Liberal previous school threatener/candidate !!! Also about seven Tory rebel councillors and one independent councillor.

So now it is all down to the Full Council on Wednesday with hopefully 4 options to chose from if the opposition amendment for a Referendum is added to the choice.

Back in the 2005 Council elections some high-profile Liberal councillors lost their seats due to their arrogant disregard for public opinion over a schools reorganisation- Smart, Wareham, Harris, Barry, Kendall - but also some who did not have the trappings of Cabinet office - Fox, Lloyd, Howe, Clough for example.

In May 2009 we have Council elections again and together with those current Cabinet members who will deservedly struggle to hold their seats (if re-selected) - Brown, Cousins, Hunter-Henderson, Tuson, Wells, Pugh - will be other foot soldier Tories who may think they will be OK one year after perhaps betraying their electorates, but who will probably pay the price of defeat..........

Ladies and gentleman the next generation of unrewarded losers will include - Cameron, Burt, Hobart, Webster, Humber, Whittaker

WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING.......

A delegated decision was made today by the Cabinet Member for Children that relied upon MISLEADING the public about the futures of the church-aided schools at Carisbrooke High School, ABK RC Middle and Trinity CE Middle.

The decision, made outside of the committee process and entirely non-responsive to representations that I made, is to merge these two Middle schools as from September this year.

A decision made despite the fact that the so-called earlier consultation on this merger made no mention of the subsequent plans to create a new 'faith' secondary school from the two Middle schools and Carisbrooke High - the so-called Christ the King College. Something I would have thought was pretty pertinent......

Delegated decisions are supposed to be forewarned in something called the Forward Plan. This one wasn't.

In the past when I have made representations about a delegated decision I have always had a considered reply before they made the decision. Its called going through the process, but newer Cabinet members don't seem to understand that. This decision stinks.

CAPITAL OMISSIONS

I have referred here to the Council's failure to spend its Capital Programme budget before. Highways being one of the main underspends with consequences for Islanders.

The Capital Programme this year started off as £56m, but was reduced mid-year to £39m as they realised they did not have the staff or the processes (after Undercliff) to deliver. By the end of December the spend to 31 March was projected to be £16m. A massive difference even from the revised budget.

Some of the additional items that are not being delivered to Islanders are:

*** 20mph schemes outside schools - budget £200k, projected year end spend £74k;

*** Grants to provide adaptations to the homes of people with disabilities - budget £890k, projected to year end £390k, not spent £500k;

*** Sure Start programme for children - budget £215k, projected NIL;

*** Access to Council buildings for people with disabilities - budget £100k, projected £19k;

*** Planned maintenance of school buildings - budget £129k, projected £5k;

*** CCTV equipment replacement - budget £100k, projected NIL.

Not a good record for an administration that bleats about underfunding on as regular a basis as the LibDems did before 2005 !

SCHOOLS - LET THE ISLAND DECIDE

The following Motion will be proposed to the Council Meeting on March 19th:

Council on March 19th resolves to add the following 4TH OPTION to the three currently available to Members within the Education Reorganisation decision-making process tonight:-

A Referendum of the Isle of Wight electorate to be called immediately, to decide between;

*** Continuing to raise standards within the current 3-tier system, retaining small schools and avoiding a major reorganisation;
or
*** A reorganisation to a 2-tier system, which emphasises the importance of small schools and community-based learning.

I don't normally support referendums, except when there is a clear lack of leadership from the top. That is the position now. A referendum can be delivered within 10 weeks and still meet the current timetable for capital funding submissions to central government.

The motion offers Island people a clear choice and at a cost of no more than 75p per adult would be money well spent. Certainly better than the 90p per adult spent on the current private and confusing consultation.

ISLAND LABOUR SMILING

So the local LibDems have picked a former IW councillor as their next parliamentary candidate. The woman who tried to force 2-tier education onto the Island without listening to the people and then paid the price by losing her Council seat in Brighstone back in May 2005. So now her party wants Islanders to have faith in someone with a track record of ignoring the Island. I don't think so.

As LibDem grandee Morris Barton said back in July 2005 after the last elections, " LibDems face a decade out of power on the IW." And "We are seeing the voting intentions of people polarise towards either Labour or the Tories." Even more true now Morris !

Of course the Labour parliamentary candidate, Mark Chiverton (left), is well positioned as the representative of the only political party on the IW that doesn't flip flop over its position on schools. Standards matter, not organisational structures.

Someone later said here...

"Jill Wareham's attempt is doomed. This woman was responsible for our failing education system and now claims to want to put education at the centre of her campaign! Will she be letting us know where her administration went wrong?

I would laugh but it's not funny. This woman clearly has no shame and local Liberals must be desperate."

POLICE UNDERCLIFF INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE.....

Noticed lurking in the back pages of the CP this weekend that the Police 'Serious Crimes Unit' are still investigating the Undercliff affair.

So public money is being spent twice it seems ? £2m of Council Tax payers money on the Council's investigation and who knows how much now out of our police precept.

I recall saying months ago - if the Undercliff matter was so bad why not just refer it to the Police and save the Council Taxpayer the expense.......

JUST NOT EFFECTIVE SCRUTINY

I attended the Scrutiny Committee on Thursday evening. I wonder sometimes whether I should expend my energies more productively elsewhere.........

As is now intergral, the majority of the committee were silent Tories, who wouldn't know how to scrutinise decison-making even if they were in opposition - as a few of them will be in 14 months time. It was subsequently observed to me that if it wasn't for the two lay co-optees and myself there would not be a meeting.

When I initiated a line of questioning into the Council's failure to spend its £760,000 capital programme monies on road surface treatments, with the consequent effects on insurance claims, and on a day when senior officers were in London seeking Roads PFI monies, the Tory silence was deafening as the relevant Cabinet Member floundered quite embarrassingly. If there had been more than the co-optees and I to pursue him on this I suspect his position would have become untenable. Which of course is why the Tories gutted Scrutiny last May.....

We are repeatedly told how committed to scrutiny the leader of the Council and the Chief Exec are. So committed indeed that the CX hasn't attended a meeting since Sept 2006, and the leader was just along the corridor, no doubt plotting his next deft (daft?) move in the education debacle.