Thursday 24 May 2007

Will the New Standards Committee make a difference?




IN TIMES OF BLATANT CORRUPTION ONE WONDERS IF THIS NEW GROUPING OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE WILL ACTUALLY MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AT ALL?



TAKEN FROM THE NEWS UPDATE OF LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL HOMEPAGE, THE REPORT BELOW INFORMS US OF A NEW INDEPENDANT MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE AND IS ALSO THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE.

IF ONE CAN BE OPTIMISTIC WE WOULD HOPE THIS COMMITTEE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND ENSURE OFFICERS AND COUNCILLORS ACT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE LIVERPOOL COUNCIL TAX PAYERS.

HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT A NEW COMMITTEE, IT JUST HAS NEW MEMBERS, WHAT DID THE FORMER MEMBERS AND THE REMAING MEMBERS DO ABOUT THE EVIL CABAL??

WE COULD ALSO ASK WHO THE OTHER TWO INDEPENDANT MEMBERS ACTUALLY ARE?

PAMELA BROWN, WORKS FOR LIVERPOOL DIRECT LIMITED!

SEE BELOW FOR COUNCIL REPORT



23/05/2007

Standards committee gets more independence

LIVERPOOL City Council's standards watchdog is to have an independent chair for the next year.

And for the first time since the Standards Committee - which was established in 2000 - there will be a majority of independent members compared with councillors.

The Committee promotes and maintains appropriate standards of conduct for councillors and officers in the city council. It also deals with reports of an ethical nature, oversees the whistle-blowing policy and overviews the handing of complaints and ombudsman investigations.

A review of ethical standards in the city council by the Audit Commission suggested that in the "interests of open and accountability the committee should be chaired by an independent member."

Following a public advertisement and recruitment process, Howard Winik has been appointed be chair of the Committee. His appointment was confirmed at the Council's Annual meeting.

Mr Winik graduated in dental surgery at the University of Liverpool and worked as a dentist in the area for a number of years. He became a magistrate in 1990 and serves in both the adult and youth courts.

He is currently Chairman of the Bench and also serves as a mentor and appraiser for new magistrates. He has occupied positions on the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's Advisory Committee for Justices of the Peace, the Merseyside Area Judicial Forum, the Court of the University of Liverpool, has served as chairman and member of several tribunals including the fields of health , education and other issues. He is also an 08 ambassador for the city.

He said: "High ethical standards and absolute integrity are essential if the community is to have trust and confidence in their local politicians.

"I hope that the new standards committee will be able to work positively and constructively with all members of the city council to ensure these qualities are not only practised, but are seen to be practised.

"I think this would be to everyone's benefit"

The other new committee member is Kim Lumberg who, after graduating, embarked on a business management career spanning some 25 years with the John Lewis Partnership and has specialised in training, human resources and customer services.

She has been a magistrate, a member of the Young Musician of the Year Committee and a Red Cross volunteer. She has been a recruitment Manager for a local company and is currently a Manager for Jonathan Kay. She has experience of employment hearings and the application of an ethical framework in the workplace.

They will join the other two independent members, Pamela Brown and Hugh Thompson along with city councillors Stuart Monkcom and Gideon Ben-Tovim on the committee for 2007/8.

ENDS
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NADIA GETS TO USE MACCAS GOLDEN SHOWER

NADIA GETS TO USE MACCAS GOLDEN SHOWER

QUOTE OF THE YEAR 2007

Council leader Warren Bradley said that some individual councillors’ behaviour was “appalling” and not fitting of a democratic society.

FULL STORY

BUMBLING BRADLEY

FIREMAN'S INTERVIEW WITH ROGER PHILLIPS, AFTER COUNCIL RANKED THE WORST FINANCIALLY RUN

Roger: This is not a good report for us is it Warren?
Fireman:Well Roger we’ve got to put it into perspective really haven’t we and remember where Liverpool was and that’s not thinking back 10 years. Liverpool has come an awful long way. The people of Liverpool were asking for lower Council Tax and the Liberal Democrats have delivered that and they also wanted better services and you look at the services that are now delivered by Liverpool City Council. If we look at the most vulnerable either elderly or the Children’s Services the social care we are now delivering at a level that Liverpool has never delivered before. We also look at the bread and butter your schools, your sports centres, your libraries, One Stop Shops in communities, our parks, we’ve got 13 green flag parks. It’s like a new home to me when you get an old dilapidated derelict building you’ve got to bring it up to a standard and I think Liverpool City Council under the Liberal Democrats have certainly done that and I am certain if we did a survey of people in the City do you want Liverpool City Council to sit on £20m worth of reserves or do you want the City Council delivering front line services that affect the most vulnerable and people’s lives in the City. I think that they would vote with their feet and say that we support the policies of Liverpool City Council. We’ve got to look at the financial regulations put in by Government and if you want my opinion about this Roger it is purely political.
Roger: Well come on, you know the Audit Commission is not a political body
Fireman: Well with respect Roger and I would beg to differ on that
Roger: Well how can it be a political, it’s an independent organisation?
Fireman: We can say everything is independent to a certain extent but you know you look at what we’ve got at the moment in Liverpool and we’re delivering top quality services.
Roger: But the problem with this is that you’ve got an overall score rating of 2 which was adequate performance into 05, overall score in 06 was 2 which is adequate performance.
This year it is down to 1 below minimum requirements inadequate performance.
Fireman: Based around financial regulations…
Roger: Yes I’m talking about the financial…..
Fireman: Laid down by government. I mean that’s what you’ve got to remember. Don’t try and muddy the waters and say oh this is about Liverpool City Council and their overall performance. It’s not. You look at the issue that we’ve done about achievements. Liverpool scoring 3-4 on achievement at the moment through the Audit Commission.
Roger: I didn’t know that.
(EDs: Pitiful, just pitiful.)
Fireman: And we do seem to always go to the negatives when we’re looking for something like this.
Roger: The District Auditor was pretty negative about you wasn’t he and…
Fireman: No, I have got to say Roger I would love to have £50m in reserves. I would also love not to have to put additions of £7m into adult social care and £2-3m into children’s social care. The facts are we have got to do that because of the pressures that are on Liverpool at the moment.
Roger: So are other Councils….
Fireman: I’m not willing as Leader of this Council to take away care to the most vulnerable to allow it to sit in reserve. I am not willing to do that and I will go to the stake on that the people of the City. Liverpool now is only one of a handful of Councils up and down the country that is providing moderate care to the most vulnerable people in the City. Now to give people an idea of what moderate care is that is home care. These people who’ve got no family to support them and require a visit in the morning or a visit in the evening to make sure they’re ok to help them to take the pills, to make sure that they’ve got the food. Most Councils up and down this country have removed that care. Liverpool City Council is still allowing our most vulnerable people our sort of care. Now is that wrong, is that wrong?
Roger: Now no one would argue that’s wrong but everyone. But many people are affected by housing. Housing is really poor isn’t it. I mean you are so poor you’ve had to hand it over to a different group to run it.
Fireman: Well with respect Roger, with respect, you’ve got to know what the Housing Corporation have done and in partnership with the Government again it’s easy to say it’s the Council, in partnership with the Government we’ve tackled head on through the Pathfinder areas of the inner core of the City some of the housing inefficiencies of the City. That hasn’t happened over the last five years that’s happened over 30 or 40 years. The problems in Norris Green in housing were prevalent 30 or 40 years ago and weren’t tackled. As an Authority we’ve challenged what wasn’t tackled and we’ve challenged it head on and I opened a couple of weeks ago with Flo Clucas and Marilyn Fielding with Cobalt Housing the first phase of Norris Green. We’ve transformed that area and its got houses for sale and social housing in Norris Green that people are seeking to live in now. We’ve got in a core Edge Hill, Kensington, Kirkdale the same issues that have been there for 30 or 40 years that we’re tackling now hand in hand with the Government. I’m not taking the credit for it and the Government isn’t. We’ve got a schools’ programme that is second to none. Liverpool’s young people are now achieving at the national average. I want it higher than national average to give new opportunity but again I’ll say I’m not going to suit accountants’ financial regulations in London and leave £millions sitting in reserve while we have still got the challenges Liverpool has got and I think people you know.
Roger: Do you think it was a mistake to keep Council Tax down or freeze it over the past few years?
Fireman: Well isn’t it ironic Roger how last week John Healey said how Liverpool is charging £101 a head...
Roger: Because its inefficiencies….
Fireman: Well we have taken £150m worth of inefficiencies out of our budget over the last 10 years. We’ve kept Council tax down which is exactly what Government policy is and is exactly what John Healey is saying. Councillor Joe Anderson is saying something completely different to the people of Liverpool that he will put taxes up to build reserves to put in reserve well again this administration this Lib Dem administration is not going to tax for the sake of taxing to leave money sitting in reserve. We will build up the reserves over a period of years and then we will be able to tackle some of the other issues that we’ve got to do. We recognise the health inequalities. To improve health inequalities we’ve got to have a real stable economy offering real opportunity and raising the aspirations in them poorer communities. You cannot do that leaving millions and millions of pounds laying in reserves and this administration will continue the robust financial management that we’ve done. We’ll carry on delivering…
Roger: If it was that robust we wouldn’t have this problem of £20m overdrawn on Capital of Culture.
Fireman: Roger, lets put things into hindsight. We are still delivering front line services. We are still…
Roger: It’s about £20m overall that we’re short this year – now that’s not robust management
Fireman: But Roger we are going through a budget setting process. Every Local Authority up and down the country is in the same process as us. I remember reading about Wirral being £50m short. Other Local Authorities. I meet the core city leaders who are £40-£50m short exactly the same as Liverpool . And let’s not forget I haven’t come on here to knock the Government I’ve come on here to say that I believe we’ve got a robust financial programme in place that is going to deal with the shortfall. We’ve delivered year on year but I’ll say again I am not going to allow millions and millions of pounds to lay in reserve. Cut front line services to the most vulnerable and then say that’s acceptable. Nor as Leader of this Council am I going to allow Council Tax to go through the roof again which will drive the inability to bring further investment into this City. While the Lib Dems have been in control we’ve brought Council Tax down, we’ve brought renewed confidence and we’ve brought real investment that will bring opportunities to the most vulnerable and I think that is the most important and I think the people of this City will stand full square with us on that. I’m proud of what we’ve delivered in this City over the last 10 years and Capital of Culture is part of that."