COUNCIL BUDGET BLACKHOLE

Press Release:

"How on earth has the current IW Council budget blackhole doubled in just 4 months ? From £3.5 million in December, to £6.5 million in April. And why are the leadership no longer taking successful 'management action .....to reduce spend in identified pressure areas' ?" (Sources: Cabinet report 8.12.09, 'Update on the Overall Financial Position').

These are important questions being asked by Labour's Cllr Geoff Lumley in the light of a presentation to be made to the largely toothless, majority-controlled Overview & Scrutiny Committee next Monday.

See http://www.iwight.com/council/committees/Overview & Scrutiny Committee/1-2-10/agenda.pdf

Cllr Lumley who although presenting the only opposition budgets for the last three years is not a member of this committee. However, in his preparations for an alternative budget this year he has been staggered to learn that the Council leadership appears to be abandoning attempts to balance this year's Budget.

Cllr Lumley said, "At the December Cabinet, meeting we were told that although there were in year financial pressures they would, as you would expect, manage them through to a balance. The presentation on Monday tells us that they expect this years overspend to amount to £6.5m next year, suggesting to me that Council finances are out of control.

£3.5 million of this overspend is related to Adult Social Care and Learning Disabilities Services, which were projected to overspend by just £1.2 million in December. This is a three-fold increase in less than a quarter. And in a Kafka-esque move later on in the Scrutiny presentation the Council leadership propose to cut back Adult Care Services next year by - yes, you guessed it, £3.5 million. It beggars belief."

"Quite frankly I expected more of a political leadership so keen to sell itself as financially competent. This is gross mis-management of the Council's finances and the people to suffer will be those who can ill-afford it. If they aren't up to the job perhaps they should step aside and let others who could do the job ?"

SUTTON VERDICT

I don't know about IW Councillors from other groups, but I feel pretty insulted by the Standards Tribunal recommendation that all councillors require training on

"enabling Councillors to recognise when they have personal and prejudicial interests and on the interaction between Members and Officers of the Council"

just because he was too stupid to see that what he was doing back in 2007 was plain wrong.

WHEN WILL THEIR HANDWASHING STOP ?

So at last night's Cabinet the Council decided to opt out of Ryde and Shanklin theatres, just like they opted out of providing any secondary schools last September. They call it withdrawing to just their 'core business'. I shudder to think what will be sloughed off next. Where will they stop washing their hands of local services ?

I reminded them of the traditions of the radical Tory of 100 years ago, Joseph Chamberlain - though I confess to confusing him at the meeting with his less meritorious eldest son Austen - who was a towering figure of the early days of local government in Birmingham before making a national name for himself as a Cabinet minister. Not for him core business and philistinism, but local government that "paved, assized, marketed, gas & watered and improved".

The Deputy Leader got my point, with a reference to Joseph's other political son - Neville - but I don't think the rest did as they persist with their Thatcherite/Cameronite dogma.

THOUGHTS ON THE GOING OF SUTTON

The CP accurately reports today that Wednesday’s Isle of Wight Council meeting heard from current deputy leader Cllr George Brown that the former Council leader (Andy Sutton) was told to stand down in September 2007 because a majority of his Cabinet refused to serve under him and his deputy, Cllr Patrick Joyce.

As Brown made his statement Sutton and Dawn Cousins (who has been on the Cabinet since 2005) both looked to me to be very irritated at what Brown was saying.

Interesting that after Sutton stood down with Joyce and Melanie Swan back in September 2007, Ian Ward and Jilly Wood were both sacked from the Cabinet by the new leader. I make that 5 out of 10 members of the then Cabinet – and with Cousins, whose expertise makes her pretty much unsackable by anyone ????? You can do the maths…..

I suspect Sutton's resignation was more to do with the Tory Group as a whole and a minority of ambitious Cabinet members.

LATEST LIBERAL INEPTITUDE: NOT USING THEIR VOTES

First meeting of 2010 for the Full Council last night.

Main issue was the independent remuneration panel's Member Allowances recommendations for the duration of this Council. In line with my proposal last June at the start of this Council, the leadership recommended complete acceptance of the recommendations, which maintained the basic allowance at its current level and tinkered with special responsibility allowances - some gaining, some losing. I expressed my support for that acceptance.

The 'Independent' group proposed an amendment that further reduced some of the responsibility allowances and did not backdate the changes to last June. This was lost with the Tories, me and 4 Independents against, the other Independents in favour, and the Liberals abstaining. I opposed as I do not think councillors should do anything but accept the independent panel recommendations. Complete acceptance was then agreed with the Tories, me and a few Independents in favour, one Independent against, and a few Independents and the Liberals abstaining. From beginning to end we received no indication of what the Liberals currently think about independently determined allowances.......

The meeting then overwhelmingly agreed my motion that Cabinet member written reports be made available 24 hours ahead of Full Council to improve accountability and scrutiny. The Liberals abstained again..........

Cllr Jonathon Bacon (Independent) was then overwhelmingly elected as the latest Scrutiny Committee chair. Wonder how long he will last ? The Liberals abstained yet again.......

Meeting concluded with the usual questions of Cabinet members and I secured a promise of a full written report on how the Council thinks it can secure a new developer for the Pan development without £11m government 'kickstart' funding, when the previous agreed developer pulled out one year ago due to the absence of such infrastructure funding.

AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS......

Thought I better get back to blogging this new year, though the temptation to hibernate has been very strong this week.........

So after two and a half years the national Standards Board has imposed a two-month suspension and a training requirement on former Council deputy leader Patrick Joyce over his involvement in the Craven Court planning application. What a waste of public money this is proving to be and a clear case of institutional 'bullying' by this Board of those accused. Remember one of the original accused actually died during the 'investigation'.

What is an irony is that the training requirement on Cllr Joyce is regarding bullying. Just this month I am one of 8 councillors who had a training course in 'Dignity at Work' - including bullying - cancelled due to lack of interest from the other 32 councillors. Not one Cabinet member had put their name forward and only one committee/panel chair. And staff still tell me privately that bullying at work is a major issue in this Council.