Section 114 and the Community Sector

 

With section 114 in the news again, I’m looking back to what happened in Northamptonshire County Council and the implications and outcomes for local third sector organisations in Nottingham who are now facing this. Much was written about the car crash of local government that was Northamptonshire County Council. For those in Northamptonshire, the warning signs were clear as for the years before virtually every Tory policy attacking working people were trialled out in the organisation.

In 2015-16 saw the council workforce moved out of NJC terms and conditions in a version of what we would now call fire and re-hire. This was essentially the organisation forcing the people working for it, to bear the financial burden of strategic and managerial failure. There were a variety of large scale expensive projects to re-configure, privatise and outsource huge amount of the service delivery of the Council, with one historic Chief Executive having a vision of the council ending up with just 500 employees.

When the crunch came with the two section 114 notifications being issued in 2018, the majority of the voluntary sector investment was in a single social wellbeing contract which was already cut from  £2.6 million in 2016 to £1.6 million in 2018. When the county emerged out of the dust of local government re-organisation, most of the groups delivering services were found at least some re-source apart from the single Black organisation, Dostiyo Asian Women and Girls organisation. Despite “concerns” of the then Executive Director for Adults, Communities and Wellbeing, there was no resource forthcoming for them to continue the work.

Smaller grants to grassroots organisations disappeared overnight in July 2018 as £1.3 million delivered by Northamptonshire Community Foundation disappeared overnight. Behind every single one of these cuts is the human faces of people losing work and communities losing the services that they so desperately rely on.

The key issues for the local voluntary and charitable sector was not only the insecurity delivering a difficult environment to work in, but the lack of base or core funding means the local groups do not have the leverage of those in other parts of the country who do have this. From the experience in Northamptonshire, it will be services to disabled people and black communities that will be hit hardest. This as at a time when, the cost of living crisis is hammering those communities hardest. This is why it is so important that there is organisation by trade unions in those communities where section 114’s are being issued. The question is whether this is happening effectively enough, with enough focus and with the right insight to be effective.

Not My King - It's personal

 

I’m taking this personally. It’s like this because I care about all the people who are genuinely struggling in our community. The single parent of three children who cant afford the electricity for the equipment to keep her baby breathing, the family that have repeatedly asked me for information about direct aid to assist with gas and electricity payments and the hospital worker asking for a charity food distribution service to accommodate her as she could only get there after her shift.

All of these and many more could have dearly benefited a share of the estimated £100 million spent on the event. An event for an individual was already in the super rich of this country who was already king. Initially Charles Windsor had stated that he personally wished for a scaled back event and what the country got seemed to be a coronation on amphetamines. After all what other event  focussing on the monarchy is associated with rushed through legislative change which saw community safety workers arrested for distributing rape alarms, journalists arrested for filming protesters, and protesters with their placards taken into police custody early doors after weeks of negotiations with the Police.

It's been reported that Charles is profoundly grateful to all who helped with the coronation. This is significantly at odds with his lip read comments reported by Sky news of “We can never be on time. …This is a negative. There’s always something…This is boring,”. Perhaps it would have been less boring if he could have seen the protesters who were screened off from him.

Former Tory Leadership candidate and minister Tom Tugendhat has defended new laws hurriedly signed off days before the coronation. They include a 12-month prison sentence for protesters who block roads and a six-month prison sentence or unlimited fine for anyone who locks on to others, objects or buildings. Police will also be able to stop and search protesters they suspect are setting out to cause “disruption”. There has been no clarity on the guidelines to hosting a “non-disruptive protest” so the goalposts are open to movement.

And after the Coronation there is the call to action for the Big Help out. A rallying shout to all the subjects to volunteer in their communities. It is as always all about the money. The money on the coronation will translate to the absence of pay for teachers, nurses and other public sector workers who’s income after years of austerity simply hasn’t kept up with food or energy costs. To those who work in the community and charity sector the last few years has meant low pay and insecure employment. Again disproportionately affecting black and young workers. The coronation costs will come from somewhere. In the same way that the coronation gems on display were stolen from the African and Asia, the costs of it will be stolen from the mouths of our children.

To all those who seek to represent or promote the monarchy, this is a moment in time when you have chosen which side you are supporting. To those partying the night away at concerts and street parties or rubbing shoulders with the great and the good at yet another faith or interfaith focussed coronation blessings, it is clear that you are colluding against those of us that wish to tackle inequalities and seek to draw attention to and ensure action to address historic inequalities and injustices. Whether this about addressing the proportion of Charles Windsor’s net worth of £1.8 billion was accumulated through the slave trade or the massive transfer of wealth from the Indian Sub-continent or the subjugation of the people of Ireland, you have to choose what you care about most. That’s because it does matter.

I’m in a Trade Union – Why should I get involved with a Black Members Self Organised group?

 

In UNISON, Black is used to indicate people with a shared history. Black with a capital 'B' is used in its broad political and inclusive sense to describe people in Britain that have suffered colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today's society.

Right here and now, the challenges for both those in and out of work are extreme. With many facing the poison cocktail of both low pay and exponentially climbing bills the future looks at the very best insecure with many households simply at a loss to know what to do.

We know that Black members are likely to be in more insecure and lower paid work. We also know that they are more likely to experience poor outcomes in their engagement with public services as a result of structural racism. Just this weekend there has been another report published about the longer waits that Black communities face for cancer diagnosis. These kind of struggles can only be tackled by organising to challenge inequalities. Organising within workplaces has long been an effective strategy to identify and campaign for improvements in our lives with the support and solidarity of others.

I am inviting Black members of West Northants UNISON branch to a meeting of the Black Self Organised Group taking place on Monday 5th September at 6pm the office at 6 Darnell Way Moulton Park NN3 6RW Northampton. Hot and cold drinks and light refreshments will be available.

There will be a warm welcome whether you are or you are not active member currently.

Discussion will include:

Role holders in the Self Organised Group (Chair, Vice Chair etc)

Future meetings

Future events

2023 National Black Members Conference, 20 – 22 January 2023, The Exchange, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 150 Morrison St, Edinburgh EH3 8EE, UK

               Motions

               Delegates/visitors

Workplace issues

If you want to have an informal discussion before the meeting, please feel free to get in touch through the branch or directly

Time to join a Union #SummerOfSolidarity

 

I was asked to present to te Independent socialists of Wellingborough meeting on the Theme of Trade Unionism today and in the future. The following is the transcript of what I presented. 

The Trade Union Movement 2022 and beyond

I’ve been a union member since 1983. First in ASTMS and after a period of time out of the Country I have been a member of UNISON since 1993. The entire time I have been a UNISON member I have been working in the voluntary and community sector. UNISON has only been organising in this sector in the last 12 years and some part of the country evidently find this more difficult than others as in my region this sector still has no lay leadership and no influence on decision making in the organisation.

The Community and voluntary sector of the union is biggest growing sector in UNISON. This is mainly as a result of neo-liberal policies put forward to shrink the state and outsource public services to third party organisations many of whom act as if their primary duty is to their shareholders. These are care services, leisure services. These are workers who have been impacted by the 2021 Supreme Court final judgement on a case of great significance for care providers and low-paid care workers. The case in question was Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, was first brought to an Employment Tribunal in 2016. It turned on whether care workers on ‘sleep-in shifts’ were entitled to the national minimum wage for the full duration of their shift, including time spent asleep.  ‘Sleep-in shifts’ are those where workers are required to sleep at a residence overnight with the possibility of waking to provide care. The Supreme Court found that those on sleep-in shifts in social care are not entitled to the national minimum wage while asleep over turning previous tribunal victories.

This case related to an employment that 20 years ago would be undertaken by a local government or health agency but now undertaken by a charity. Does this have an impact on tribunal/supreme court decisions?

The workers in the community sector are often in insecure employment. Perhaps on time limited contracts or hours which go up and down at the drop of a hat. Often the kind of jobs that are done are central to the welfare of the most vulnerable in our community and this ethical angle is often exploited by employers to eek out every last bit of goodwill and flexibility to ensure that the bottom line on the budget reports are as low as they can possibly be.

With better employers looking at what they can do to support their worker through the cost of living crisis, what hope for those in the community sector. 

With the actions of the #SummerOfSolidarity with industrial action from the RMT, ASLEF, the CWU and Criminal Bar Association going on strike, there has been a re-discovering of the both the mundane (who’s going to be on the picket at 6am) to the creative use of social media to engage and update the public.

There is more to come of this with local government, health and the national education union all at various stages of balloting membership for strike action.

Within this there is a dimension-shifting disconnect between all kinds of the political establishment and unions taking industrial action.

Firstly in the Labour Party, the picket of not to picket. Front benchers notable by their absence. Backbenchers link Zara Sultana embracing the #Solidarity.

Even with in the Conservative Party, there are discussions about the inconvenience of Train Drivers taking action on some days and Train Maintenance and support staff taking action on other days. Would not it be more sensible to take action on the same day they say. Conservative industrial relations guru’s the number one supporters of the general strike!

This after all is the source of compassionate conservatism who joined the public outcry when P and O Ferries made more than 1000 workers redundant with no consultation on March. These employees were sacked by a pre-recorded zoom message and initial statements about government legal action disappeared like the morning mist. Individuals were left on their own with a complex and lengthy tribunal process or the company payout which was just slightly more that they would get in tribunal. So dismayed was the government about this, that they are now considering taking action to use agency workers to break strikes.

On the more positive side is the creation of the Enough Is Enough campaign. Crucially significant is the adoption of a broader set of demands

The five demands to tackle the crisis

1. A Real Pay Rise.

2. Slash Energy Bills.

3. End Food Poverty.

4. Decent Homes for All.

5. Tax the Rich.

At a time of spiralling housing, energy and food costs. Workers need wages but they also need a homes, food and utilities

Night before last there was also an announcement by the TUC.

The announcement itself came about with quite a lot of hype and expectation, being released at 10.30pm at night. When the details came out of a petition campaign for £15 an hour by 2030.

While the call for £15 national minimum wage is to be welcomed the aspiration for this by 2030 is poor and as a movement we can and should do better than this

Returning to familiar space

 It seems that involuntary removal of my Labour Party membership is an event that takes place once every thirteen years.

I’ve looked back at the last time this has happened when I wrote this. I guess things are pretty much the same but this time I am without the good company of the late Geoff Howes.

For people wanting to know what the crack is, I am accused of being an active member of Labour Left Alliance. This is a group I never have been a paid up member to and a group others have told me have no members. The evidence is one post two years ago which ironically enough  is mildly critical of the Corbyn administration of the Labour Party. You can read the documentation here and here.

The Labour Party National Executive proscribed Labour Left Alliance in March 2022.  It did not notify any members that the organisation has been proscribed but perhaps that’s a little academic when the proscription was retrospective so no member could take action to protect their membership if they found themselves added to a social media group or chat.

I want to thank again those comrades who have got in touch with me to offer solidarity and support. I remain who and am and continue to have the same values regardless of the views of the Labour Party about me.

I also want to encourage people to act together to achieve change with or without the Labour Party by joining the enough is enough campaign.

They have five demands to tackle the crisis

1. A Real Pay Rise.

2. Slash Energy Bills.

3. End Food Poverty.

4. Decent Homes for All.

5. Tax the Rich.

Find more about it here

Unitary Democracy?

So after the announcement of cancelled elections earlier in March it now seems that there is no democratic component in the establishment of the West Northants and North Northants Unitary Council. Conservative government and Conservative Councils think it's OK for you not to have a voice.

Across the country, a third of poorer families are missing out on free food vouchers - In Northamptonshire nearly half are doing so.

Women who are at least 10 weeks pregnant or who have a child under the age of four can get vouchers worth £3.10 a week to spend on fruit, vegetables milk and other foods at participating stores. Any woman who receives benefits such as income support or jobseeker’s allowance, or who lives in a home where someone does can make a claim for the vouchers.

The vouchers were brought in UK-wide in 2006 by Labour in an effort to improve the diets of poorer families and narrow the nutritional gap between rich and poor. However, the scheme is poorly promoted and so lots of families are missing out.

There is plenty of research to show the benefits of the scheme in not only addressing food poverty but also helping develop good eating habits in young children whose families get the vouchers and improving the health of pregnant women and new mothers.

The scheme is a national one, but families in our county are missing out a lot more than other parts of the country and there are several reasons for this.

With spending on public health in the county in turmoil following the double bankruptcy of the Conservative County council and with audit questions on the use of public health funds in the Council there simply has not been the leadership in the County to address the low take up as a priority. We have a Tory council, busy raising Council tax to the maximum and balancing budgets to address structural deficits but without the time or consideration to see how the lives of the poorest families in our county can be improved at little cost to the council.

In addition to this, little is done to ensure a choice of retailers willing to accept the vouchers. There is an online process of registering as a retailer in order that they can claim back the money. In Tower Hamlets, the local council is promoting local market stalls as retailers accepting vouchers stating that the food is cheaper and fresher than in supermarkets. In this way the Council is not only promoting access to free nutritious food to low income families but is also promoting local businesses and entrepreneurs in the town. 

In some parts of the town (Kingsley front) the only retailers that accept the vouchers are ones that have closed down. With assistance from the Kingsley Park and Links View Residents Association a number of independent retailers in the area have been approached to encourage them to register to the scheme.

County Council Cutting Transport Services for Children with Learning Disabilities

I was approached by a parent of a girl with learning disabilities who had been advised that his daughter had been chosen for change in the transport service to school. The child attended the Beehive Centre and currently has a school bus pick her up from home and drop her back at home at the end of the day. The new proposal seeks to pick children up for a point that may be a mile away. Initially the proposal identified children in year 7 who had only just started school and some wheelchair user children. These actions led many parents to believe that no proper individual assessment of children's needs had taken place for the scheme.

The proposal is to implement this by 4th November at a point when pick up and drop off will be heading to darkness. This rushed timescale creates real difficulties for parents who have to work really hard to try and get some of these very vulnerable children into a change of routine.

I am arging all parents who are in this situation to make a request for reasonable adjustments. You can do so using a template email here. This will preserve rights under the Equality Act. Reasonable adjustments do not have to be considered if they have not been requested. If they have been requested, those making the decisions are obliged  to consider them and would need to evidence that process used to make the decision as to why the request has been grated or refused in the event of any challenge.

If you haven't done so already please sign this petition to try and get the council to reconsider this plan.

Children's Service's in Northamptonshire inadequate OFSTED grading

The Council’s inadequate grading of it’s children’s services by OFSTED is deeply disappointing primarily for those that use the service but also for those that work so very hard in extremely challenging working conditions in the service. Northamptonshire County Council runs one of the most expensive children’s services departments in the country and is currently heading to a £6.3 million overspend in that single department. With some sections running at extremely high levels of agency workers, (particularly the section that it responsible for initial responses to those citizens needing childrens services called the First Response Teams). These teams are running between 60 -88% agency staff, some with no permanent social workers. This together with a failure to achieve savings by recruiting social workers from overseas or to get agency workers to convert to full time social workers results in not only inadequate but very costly services. The Council is being told that the route for a stable and well skilled workforce is by acquiring something nebulously termed a “Career Pathway”. This is entirely uncosted and doesn’t seem to address the fact that the council does not pay as much or offer similar or better terms and conditions. It seems strange that the Career pathway is not juxtaposed as a strategy to returning to national pay, terms and conditions for staff as an alternative approach. This would not be something that difficult to cost, so why not?

After last months cabinet, Councillor heard from discussions with council staff and council commissioners that there were four new senior management posts being created in Childrens Services. This was not in the budget passed in the spring and it is unclear whether this is in the £6.3 million overspend. The OFSTED report is being presented to cabinet with one of the briefest papers I have ever seen also including a hazy statement under consultation and scrutiny:

“ This report will be reviewed through this structure as appropriately determined. “

There is no clarity as to the plan to improvement and no statement of the four new senior management positions on £100,000 a year and their role to taking the council to a better Children’s Service department.

Although in a previous Overview and Scrutiny meeting, the existing Director of Children’s Services has stated unequivocally that she accepts the findings of the OFSTED report, there is still a sense that this statement is not owned by the department as a whole. Three days before the OFSTED report was published at a time when senior officers would have had some idea of the impending OFSTED decision, I attended a Corporate Parenting Board meeting. At the meeting there were a number of slick presentations and some very gritty input from care leavers living in new supported accommodation in Northampton assisting them to move on to independence. However, one of the most shocking things in the report is the practise of the department in placing some of those in local authority care in “unregulated placements that are unsafe and unsuitable”. Some of my constituents have asked whether this practice has increased in the move to “Next Generation Council” ways of working. I have asked questions on this but have been unable to get an answer to date. It is also still unclear why this particular fact has not in the past few months been brought to the Corporate Parenting Board, particularly in the light of a dedicated Children’s Scrutiny Committee being abolished last year. Portfolio holder, Fiona Baker admitted that the Corporate Parenting Board should have coonsidered  this but were not provided with the opportunity to do so.

This time two years ago, the highly critical LGA peer review of Northamptoshire County Council was published. Although it was distributed to Councillors there was no content in the covering paper expressing an analysis of the report or a strategy of dealing with the findings. This was highlighted in  the spring 2018 Government Inspectors report by Max Caller report. After the report was published there was much baring of the administration’s soul about lessons being learnt. Yet here we ware again with a independent highly critical report, not given the consideration it deserves and not giving Councillors the detail to effectively contribute to the governance literally is a matter or life and death to some of our most vulnerable children.

It seems that Councillors (or maybe it is just opposition councillors) are being kept at arms length. Sad when there is so much more we could contribute.

If you want a change in the way things are done and a better Northamptonshire, for the many not the few, take a look at this and consider donating.

Northamptonshire County Council cabinet - July 2019

Over the last few months there have been considerable changes in the Northamptonshire County Council. As with the rest of life this is a mixture of positives and negatives.

Shortly after the implementation of the first section 114 (effective declaration of bankruptcy), Council meeting ceased to be webcast. This has now be re-instated and makes decision making considerable more transparent. The Council's scrutiny committees, which were aligned with the Council’s directorates, were scrapped to have one single overview and scrutiny committee in the autumn. On the positive side, for the first time in fourteen years, (since the administration took control) the chair and one of the vice chair positions were given to opposition councillors. At the beginning of the year, the administration decided that the only councillors that could speak at cabinet would be portfolio holders, the leader and one speaker from each political group. This has the impact of making it quite difficult for back bench councillors to get their voice heard. As a mitigation to this, councillors are now allowed to put questions to portfolio holders on the content of the cabinet papers. These are generally responded to on the day of cabinet, very shortly before the cabinet meetings,  and neither the questions nor the answers are published.

For the cabinet due to take place on Tuesday 9th July, I have submitted the following questions:

1.

I am concerned about the Council’s compliance with the equality act in respect of paying due regard to equality when making decisions.

For this cabinet not one cabinet paper has been equality impact assessed despite two key decisions being made. The administration has repeatedly stressed that it is committed to ensuring that the practice of the Council is of a high standard and delivering good results for all Northamptonshire’s communities. However, I am concerned that there is not transparency in decision making and the way that this impacts the diversity in local communities.

Do cabinet members agree or disagree with this? If they disagree can they advise how they are paying due regard to equality in their decision making?

2. 

There has been a drastic change to the senior management structure of the organisation and a massive reduction in specialists in the authority over the course of the administration’s tenure. These posts would have critically provided support to this kind of analysis to assist cabinet members in taking decisions. I put it that the administration is not paying due regard to equality and this is in breach of legislative requirements.

Do cabinet members agree or disagree with this? Can cabinet member advise how they are getting advice on the equality impact on key decisions and advise how that is documented?

3.

On the establishment of minor works budget for maintained schools, Over the last few years staff have raising in the CCNF concern about the information available relating to asbestos in schools. From the information given by officers event within local authority supported schools there is no clear picture as to the need for action on Asbestos in schools. This is of sufficient priority that not one but all the unions have voiced concern about this. Given this maybe the nature of the activity undertaken it would be salient to ensure that there was an analysis to ensure that decisions about what to under take and where were informed by an Equality Impact Assessment.

Given that this is a key decisions I believe to demonstrate due regard to equality and EqIA is necessary.

 Do cabinet members agree or disagree with this? Can cabinet member advise how they are getting advice on the equality impact on key decisions and advise how that is documented?

4. Corporate Performance Report 2018-19 quarter 4

I express concern about the increase in permanent exclusions

Can the cabinet member provide an analysis of the age/gender/race/disability/SEND breakdown of this? It  has not been supplied in previous requests.

I express concern about the increase in electively home educated children

Can the cabinet member provide an analysis of the age/gender/race/disability/SEND breakdown of this? It  has not been supplied in previous requests.

I express concern about Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC)

Can the cabinet member provide an analysis of the age/gender/race/disability breakdown of this?

I express concern about the reduction in referrals to Children’s Social Care and reductions in rate of child protection plans

What action is the cabinet member undertaking to address the causes of this?

UPDATE

No response was received before the meeting although one cabinet member (Cllr Fiona Baker - Childrens services portfolio holder) did assure me that she would email a lengthy response. 

You can view the Cabinet meeting here.

Are you voting in the Co-operatives of the year awards?

Co-operatives UK Have announced their shortlist for the Co-operatives of the year awards.
The categories include:
Leading Co-operative of the year
Inspiring Co-operative of the year
Co-operative Council of the year
Co-operator of the year.

Voting is open until Friday 21st June and is open to anyone.
You can find more about voting here

Are you in or have children in Abbeyfield, Northampton Academy, Northampton International Academy, Northampton School for Girls, Duston School and Thomas Becket Catholic School

At the Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet meeting on 9^th April 2019 a decision is being taken to spend nearly £2 million on additional school places.

An additional 30 places will be in each of Abbeyfield, Lings Academy, Duston School and Thomas of Becket. There will be an additional 20 places in Northampton School for Girls and an additional 60 places will be hosted in Northampton International Academy.

The Council accepts that creating more school places in this way is not good value for money and will not create the best environment for all the places. Northampton International School will go from being a ten form entry (ten classes 28-30 of new students coming into the school every year) to an eyewatering 12 form entry school.

Of course, the need for additional places in Northampton has been predicted for over five years. It is generally accepted that the town requires an additional two secondary schools. However, because the decisions were not taken at the right time in the last few years, the Council is having to take this expensive and poor solution. This is all the more critical since the council has only just got it’s finances under control after effectively declaring itself bankrupt twice last year.

So who’s fault is it? What Education portfolio holder failed to ensure the very basic issue of enough school places in Northampton was addressed an action which is a statutory requirement for the Council?

Would it be a surprise to find out the Councillor who failed to act to ensure that there were enough places for every child to be educated in the town is the Councillor who is now leading the Council.

As Councillors are no longer allowed to speak in Cabinet meeting unless appointed by their group, I submitted a question about the failure to consult over the Equality Impact Assessment that is meant to inform the decision. You can find the question and response (which doesn’t seem to address the question) here.

It seems incredible that such a serious decision affecting so many schools all of which are independent of the council can be taken without any consultation on the impact of equality. Over the last few years there has been the promotion of the myth that the paucity of school places is as a result of immigration. This is a clear illustration that the paucity of school places is as a result of poor management of public services and poor policy making.

Care at Night Night, Pay us Right

Austerity means difficult decisions and tough choices. With local authorities having faced massive cuts from government, many of these tough choices are being passed on to community and voluntary sector organisations who have had contracts with local councils. In general, these contracts provide essential services to some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Care support workers employed by the Alternative Futures Group (AFG) in the north west of England face the same experience in different conditions. UNISON members have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action in a ballot over the employer’s decision to cut back on sleep-in top-up payments. However, whilst enforcing these wage cuts AFG has has made wage cut despite no cuts in the resourcing that they get from those that purchase their service.

With many workers set of lose thousands in their pay over their employers decisions to not pay the national minimum wage for sleep-ins, UNISON members have shown their strength of feeling by voting 87% in favour of striking, in a turnout that met the threshold for lawful industrial action to take place. 

You can read more about the dispute here. 

You can donate to the campaign here.

You can send a message of support by tweeting @AfgPay

UNISON Members need a leadership 

• That will put our members’ interest at the top of the UNISON agenda

• That will use the full force of UNISON resources to stand up for our members and

     services against cuts, privatisation and attacks on our NHS

• That will leave no branch to fight alone

If you are a UNISON member, find out more about voting for a union leadership that support you click here.

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Members of the Public Expressing Opinions - Protest or abuse

“... the Tory county council has been fanatical about cuts, privatisation & outsourcing for some years”

This is Tony Banks. As a member of the public he registered to speak at the Budget setting Council meeting on Thursday 21st February. He had to do this two days in advance and attend the Council meeting until he was called. You can see the meeting here.  Tony can been seen making his statement here. 

At 10.50 of the first film, the Council chairman specifically states that that he wants "people to be able to make their points freely without any disruption from anyone else". But in spite of the Chairman’s request, Tony was interrupted by the Tory Leader of the Council, Cllr Matt Golby, who objected to him using the words "Zealot" and "Fantasist".  

After the meeting, Tony said “I used the word zealots for the reason that the Tory county council has been fanatical about cuts, privatisation & outsourcing for some years. Zealots are fanatical & the Tories were fanatical .They would not listen, to opponents or unions. When Osborne/Cameron announced Austerity, not only did they jump but they asked -how high can we jump? They tore up national union agreements despite warnings that a staff retention crisis would occur as a result.”

Since I started a Twitter poll on the merits or otherwise of Cllr Golby's actions, a number of Conservative Councillors have cited Tony's actions as "disruptive" and "abuse".

Here are some of the responses from other members of the public:

"Like it or not.. whatever words he uses.. he’s right on the nail.. and that’s why they’re angry.."

                                                                                                                      @RikPerry5311

"lt beats me why the sudden sensitivity. The word zealot as verbal abuse when local Tories support policies, cuts and Universal Credit while people are literally starving, homeless and being driven to suicide? If that isn't the fanaticism of zealots I don't know what is. "

                                                                                                                    @Kazimierz66

As I understand the comments were not aimed at individuals. If he had said "this government" instead of "Tory" it would have meant exactly the same, but you absolutely could not be accusing him of abuse.  Check yourselves on the words you use against those that disagree with you.

                                                                                                                   @Impossible_elf

If I were to respond to your unpleasant and unfounded accusations, de facto attack lines for austerity apologists, I would no doubt be accused of abusive and bullying behaviour - a fall-back argument also used ad nauseam

                                                                                                                  @rustywheels

Other members of public have reminded me of the recent standards spat between now ex-councillor Heather Smith, Councillors Robin Brown and Jason Smithers. Cllr Smithers used such choice phrases as 

“This sucks Cllr Robin Brown you have been asleep at the controls. Your (sic) about as much use as a condom with a hole in it. #failedleadership” 

and 

“@LeaderNCC cllr Smith why don’t you just throw in the towel just go before you cause anymore damage to the reputation of the council. You and some members of your cabinet have failed. I hope that the SFO is brought in to investigate your conduct. #failedleadership”. 

The report that the Council considered on this can be viewed here.

Cllr Jason Smithers repeatedly "denied that the comments made were offensive" as can be seen in the standards report here.

As a result of the spat, all County Councillors have been required to attend refresher training on the "Code of Conduct" for councillors. At the training it was emphasised that the conduct of councillors "are expected to maintain higher level of conduct and responsibility than private citizens". 

However, it seems that the bar for members of the public is set at a much higher level than that some Tory Councillors set for themselves. 

You maybe asking yourself why do I think this is important? Well, there have been several measures that have been taken that have had the effect of discouraging the public from commenting on business. These have included the cessation (now reinstated) of the live streaming of Council meeting and the placing of members of the public outside of the Council chamber to view the live stream. 

The participation of the public in Council meetings adds a fresh perspective to decision making and statements like Tony's are the embodiment of practicing Article 10 of the Human Rights Act, 

"Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers."

I have written before on the poor record of Northamptonshire County Council in promoting involvement in the budget consultation, only setting one meeting open to the public on the budget as an afterthought when Labour Councillors drew this to the administration's attention.

If you are on twitter and would like to vote in my Twitter poll you can find it here

Kingsley Park and Links View Residents Association - A chance for lasting change

A really great part of being a local Councillor is working with other Councillors in the area to get real lasting change a benefit for the people we are meant to serve. Very soon after my election, Cllr Cathrine Russell pulled together an initial meeting of the Kingsley Park and Links View Residents Association. The groups has now been set up with a brand spanking new constitution. The group hopes to provide a forum for local residents and businesses to work together for the benefit of the area. As a local Councillor it’s a real help to have a group of local people who are passionate about where they live and have opinions about how changes that local councils can make, can improve life for local people.

The group are keen to get more local people involved and in particular want to involve people in the Links View Area. They are having their next meeting on 17^th January in the Pioneer Pub, Fulford Dr, Northampton NN2 7NU at 7.30pm. If you cannot make the meeting please visit their website, and like them on facebook.

Anything Changed Yet? - Who Cares About The Public Voice?

A year ago, Max Caller, an Inspector from the government, was in Northamptonshire County Council examining current and historical documents concerning the council and talking to officers, councillors and other stakeholders. The inspection report he eventually published had a headline stating Northamptonshire Council Council had failed and the most quoted comment was that local government was about “doing the boring well”.

Revisiting it, it’s interesting to examine whether we’re making progress. The Caller report also stated that “The council’s approach comes across as sloppy, lacking in rigour and without challenge“. There was particular concern about the secrecy of the administration and the lack of information given to councillors event when they asked for it. Genuinely, the pace of change has meant that it’s really hard to keep up for those in the organisation, let alone the public.

It’s being eight years since Northamptonshire County Council has held a meeting to genuinely ask the public what they think of the budget proposals affecting their local services and spending their council tax money. After only fourteen people attended a meeting in Kettering, the then Tory leadership axed consultation as a waste of money.

In the 2013/14 budget consultation there were public sessions in advance of budget scrutiny workshops for Councillors on the key thematic areas of the budget. These continued in subsequent years but not this year. For the first time, there is no opportunity for the public to make their voice heard about the council’s budget plans.

There are other ways local people can express their views of course, but the process of having budget consultation meetings is about inclusion, engagement and above all transparency. The failure of Northamptonshire County Council to have any consultation events with the public is evidence that the “carry on regardless” attitude is still present with council tax payers treated as non-stakeholders event though they are paying for the services. Also, as consumers of those services, they are in a key position to challenge in a way that provides insight into how services might be more effectively run. There are positive reasons why challenge provides better services, better decision making and more valued services.

However, above all, the public should have a right to comment about local services as it is morally the correct thing to do. This has been raised by the Labour group with senior officers. When commissioners came to discuss the budget with the Labour group I questioned whether there would be consultation meetings and was assured that, consultation meetings would take place. Labour’s Cllr Mick Scrimshaw as Chair of the new over-arching Overview and Scrutiny Committee has sought that there is at least one meeting that the public will be allowed to address on 23^rd January. This meeting will take place at the end of the scrutiny process, where the committees response will be finalised, and there will be a recap on the individual meetings councillors will have had. Although Labour are not in control of the Council they have recognised and acted on this glaring omission. It’s unsurprising that the Tory administration don’t see the need for people to have their say. Acting, as usual, for the few not the many.

Number 19 bus returns on 20th January 2019

After a massive campaign by the Chronicle and Echo, the number 19 bus will be re-instated with a half hourly service. The challenge now is to ensure that it is sustainable and the best way of doing this is to make sure it is used. A key group of people who can make this a success are older people with bus passes. Even though the trip doesn't cost the individual anything, the bus provider gets paid by the County Council for each journey undertaken.

You can see the new timetable here.

Make the workers pay

It’s all about managing resources. Something that Northamptonshire County Council have been struggling with for quite some time. Decisions about the problems it has faced have been impeded by the lack of transparency and the failure to involve both councillors and the public in understanding issues and proposed solutions. I have written more about this here. One of NCC’s many areas of mismanagement concerns decisions about the council workforce. Over the last few weeks it has emerged that 2015 seems to have been a critical year for Northamptonshire County Council. The Chief Finance Officer had written to the Council's political leadership stating an intention of issuing a section 114 notice effectively declaring the Council bankrupt. 

In 2015, with the whole country in the midst of the fifth year of austerity, within the Northamptonshire bubble the section 114 was never implemented. This was despite all of the then cabinet, including the current leader of the authority, Cllr Matt Golby, being aware of the statutory duty of the Chief Finance Officer to invoke it. Whilst the council didn’t go bankrupt, the butterfly-effect of its decisions fell heavy on the rest of Council resources. As a consequence, cuts to budgets had a dramatic impact on users of the county council’s services. It had an even starker impact on staff working for the county council. It was at this time that deliberate decisions were taken to make all staff pay for the privilege of working for the authority. The county council needed the dosh but, with an election looming, was unwilling to increase council tax and cut services dramatically.  So the staff had to make the sacrifice which included being taken out of nationally negotiated pay terms and conditions. This meant that if they could switch job to one in Bedford, Leicester, Rugby or Market Harborough they instantly had a better deal than any on offer in Northampton. Other changes included not paying staff for the first day they were off sick which had a bigger impact on part-time staff than anyone else. The way this was implemented was also brutal, with staff being effectively sacked and re hired on the new terms and conditions. 

The effects of this on the council’s ability to undertake its responsibilities to look after vulnerable people cannot be overstated. It is now extremely difficult to recruit for essential roles, such as social workers and some of the strategies designed to convert agency workers to being on the council’s books have massively backfired. Half of the social workers recruited by Northants County Council last year have already left. So, massive expenditure by NCC has failed to deliver the kind of services vulnerable local people deserve and have paid Council taxes for. The concept of conservative financial competence is dead in the water in Northamptonshire. 

A better  way of delivering essential public services is possible but honesty in local government governance is required for this to happen. It is possible to have properly funded and responsibly managed  local government but this needs to start with transparency about how the council will balance its books and openness about where any axe to services will fall. Only by doing this can we understand the funding gap from central government. Over a month after the second section 114 notice was published we’re still no clearer about this.