Elected mayors - The plot thickens.
Looks like the Bolton News are not going to publish my overly-long letter copied to my previous blog.
However, todays Bolton News carries another letter on the subject, this time from a Mr P A Williams of Harwood.
Let's have a referendum
I take issue with Alan Calvert’s comment that the “Elected mayor plan is plain daft”.
If the result of the consultation was democratically flawed, then it was undemocratic, and as such the voters deserve a referendum on the matter. He makes a point about the few people that replied in the consultation but surely this was due to the way it was organised.
I haven’t received a Bolton Scene for months, and when I requested a consultation form at my local library I was told they had none and didn’t know they were available. After the Market Hall fiasco, it seems to me that unless any result is to the liking of this council it is rejected.
Councillors are elected to represent their constituents and, on the whole, do this well. But are any of them qualified to run the town? I doubt it, and certainly not part-time.
If any of the existing councillors would like the job of elected mayor they could stand for election, that way all the people of Bolton would have a vote and not just the few ward members who vote for their councillor who then becomes leader. Is that democratic??
So Alan, don’t toe the ruling party line like a ventriloquists’ dummy, speak for the people and champion real democracy.
Mr P A Williams Northwood Harwood
.....................................................................................
Had no response yet to my e-mail to John Denham but I have sight of a response from the Director of the Chief Executives Department at Bolton Council to a similar complaint from another Bolton resident.
After listing the procedures prescribed by the Local Government Act in relation to changing the way the Executive operates, he writes:-
"Despite the above being included within the Act it does not provide either for any specific form of consultation or for any specific consultation period. In addition the department for Communities and Local Government decided not to issue any guidance to Local Authorities as to what the Department considers would constitute 'reasonable steps'. As a result, each Local Authority has had to reach its own decision as to the form and level of public consultation that it considers to be appropriate."
This is simply not true !!!!!!
The predecessor of the Department for Communities and Local Government, i.e. The Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, in December 1999 issued the following:-
New Council Constitutions
Consultation Guidelines for English Local Authorities
This can be downloaded in pdf format from the following website.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/newcouncilconstitutions3
It is difficult to get past many pages before realising that the consultation organised by Bolton Council comes nowhere near satisfying these guidelines and best practice.
It is worrying that the Director of the Chief Executives Dept is seemingly unaware of this document and it simply re-enforces my cynicism about the Council paying lip service to the requirements of the Act in the hope of pushing through their preferred option of Leader and Cabinet.
I've e-mailed this info to John Denham.
The Council seems to think they are in the clear on this one.
An interesting thought. If the Secretary of State concludes that the consultation was flawed and didn't fulfill the requirements of the Act, does this mean that any subsequent actions by the Council in pursuing their preferred option of Leader & Cabinet through full Council on December 9th and beyond would be 'Ultra Vires'?
This one has still got legs - as they say in the press.
I feel another letter to the Bolton News coming on.
Paul
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Saturday 21 November 2009
Elected Mayors - Flawed Consultation
.
I suppose I'm becoming cynical but, having had some experience documented in this blog of Bolton Council's 'Consultations', I was incensed by an article in the Bolton News a few weeks ago where Sean Harris the Chief Executive stated that following the pathetic response to the so called Consultation on the future operation of the Executive of the Council, where the majority were in favour of an elected mayor, they were going to ignore it anyway and go their own sweet way.
I rattled off a letter to the Bolton News which this time round they actually printed. It went as follows.
...................................................................................
Dear Sir
So we are not to have an elected mayor. The powers that be decided to consult the people. Another consultation - this time through Bolton Scene, almost guaranteed to produce a poor numerical response.
Come on, -who reads it? It goes either straight into the recycling bin or the outside toilet. But this suits the purposes of the Town hall, elected or employed. Turkeys just don't vote for Christmas.
Even though a miserable number of 622 people took part in the consultation and even though a majority supported the idea, this was sufficient for it to be ignored. If only 622 people voted in a Council by election then whoever the majority voted for would be elected. What's the difference?
Unfortunately the Council have a track record on arranging consultations which they can then ignore. What about the Market Hall? What about spending £31,500 ripping up a perfectly good footpath in Little Lever that's only been down five years? (Work starts this Sunday).
The existing structure of the Council, with it's executive members for this and that, means that the Councillors elected by Little Lever, irrespective of party, are 'junior' to certain other councillors. Does this mean that they are less able to effectively represent their electors?
The proposed Cabinet structure would only make this situation worse. This is emulating the situation with national Government. It doesn't lend itself to more efficiency, it just means they can do what they want for four or five years.
Why is the Chief Executive, Sean Harris, commenting on this? It's Cliff Morris's job. He is the one who was elected. Who is running this Town hall?
My manifesto for running for elected mayor would be obvious to all and no doubt would be shared, no doubt, by many other of your readers who would want to run.
Competence, Value for money, scrap final salary gold plated inflation proofed pension schemes, scrap all this political correctness stuff, stop translating every document into a dozen different languages, fewer chiefs, more workers, enforce the laws and by-laws without fear or favour, make people do the jobs they are paid to do with our money and don't think you only need to listen to the electors in the three weeks before polling day.
The question of elected mayors should be put to a referendum of registered electors and be independently organised by the Electoral Commission, not left to the whim and fancy of the incumbents who wish to preserve their position.
My points are completely without reference to one party or another, but democracy has to happen every day, not just once a year or once every five years.
End of Letter
.....................................................................................
Since then there have been several other mentions of Elected Mayors in letters and Columns.
First of all Alan Calvert of the Bolton News
.....................................................................................
Unlike some of the people who write letters to this newspaper, I think the idea of an elected Mayor for Bolton is plain daft.
I have said the same thing at various intervals over the years and it pleases me that council leaders dismissed this option after a consultation exercise that provoked little interest or excitement.
Six people used one of the 4,000 leaflets produced by the council and only 35 people returned the tear-off consultation slip contained in 120,000 copies of Bolton Scene, the council newspaper.
Some 622 people took part in a month-long consultation that cost £4,300 and, not surprisingly, more people were in favour of an elected Mayor than against.
The ruling Labour executive, supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition parties, chose to ignore this flawed democratic result and concentrate on the other option being pushed by the government — a new-style council leader and executive.
A final decision on whether to adopt this new system will be made by the full council on December 9.
This new leader — presumably Labour’s Cliff Morris — would have more responsibility and that would apply equally to John Walsh (Conservative) and Roger Hayes (Liberal Democrat) if either of those gentlemen were to win the most seats at next year’s election.
Before the decision is taken it would be helpful if the council could spell out the details in full for our benefit.
Would the new-style leader receive a larger allowance and be expected to put in more hours?
Would the same apply to a new executive?
If so, what would the advantages be for those of us who pay council tax?
I am delighted that the elected Mayor idea is dead in the water, but I have yet to be convinced that the alternative change is necessary for the town.
End of article.
.....................................................................................
This prompted a letter from a James Birch of Sharples as follows:-
.....................................................................................
So, Bolton Council have decided that we will not have an elected mayor.
I don’t like to say I told you so, but several weeks ago my letter was published in The Bolton News saying that the decision had already been made by the council and I was proved right.
No, I did not attend any meetings or return any tear-off consultation slip from the Labour Party propaganda paper Bolton Scene which just goes directly into my paper recycle bin
.
As I said before, what’s the point?
I believe that 622 people took part in the consultation which was not sufficient numbers for the council. Could they inform me, and others, how many people would be an acceptable number? 722? 922? 1,022?
If a councillor was elected with a majority of less than 622 I presume that would not be acceptable and a second election would be called.
Dream on!
According to Alan Calvert (The Bolton News, November 9), Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats chose to ignore this flawed democratic result.
Is democracy flawed if you don't get the result you want?
It is typical of Bolton Council’s “I know best attitude”.
I look forward to December 9 when the full council will again vote for no change.
End of letter
.....................................................................................
In response to this a letter was published from Peter Johnson as follows:-
.....................................................................................
James Birch complains that a majority of 622 people (0.07% of the electorate) failed to procure an elected executive mayor for Bolton.
In the days when the Labour Movement had more regard for the rules and procedures thanit apparently does now, a major constitutional proposal of this significance would require not merely a simple majority but the support of 75% of all those eligible to vote, it being deemed in the absence of such levels of support that there is insufficient majority for constitutional change
Clearly, most of the population is not in the slightest interested in such a change. Not suprising.
A senior colleague in a Yorkshire Authority said to me a couple of years ago 2 If you are thinking of having an elected mayor, I have one simple word of advice for you - Don't"
"We've got one and you can't keep tabs on the blighter and if we can't keep tabs on him what chance has the ordinary punter?"
Says it all, really.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
In the meantime I had been researching the background to all this and composed a further letter to the Bolton News which summarised my findings.
I sent this a week ago but so far it hasn't been published. (Hopefully because it was too long, rather than any collusion between the Bolton News and the Council)
The letter went as follows.
.....................................................................................
Dear Sir
Further to my letter of last week about an Elected Mayor for Bolton, a little further research has produced the following points of interest.
The Local government Act of 2000 requires the Council to draw up proposals for the operation of executive arrangements within the Council. They have a choice of two options.
A directly elected Mayor and a Cabinet of up to nine Councillors appointed by that Mayor.
A Leader elected by the Council and a Cabinet of up to nine Councillors not necessarily appointed by the Leader.
Originally there was a third option of Elected Mayor and Council manager but for English Authorities this was removed by a Local Government Act in 2007.
Bolton Council as of today however are still quoting the three options on their Website.
Quote:-
Mayoral referendums
The Local Government Act 2000 set out a major change in the way local authorities in England and Wales are run. Most local authorities, except some of the smaller district councils in the area of a county council, operate 'executive arrangements'. There are three types of executive arrangement set out in the Act, two of which involve a directly elected mayor: mayor and cabinet, and mayor and council manager. The other involves a leader (who is elected by councillors) and cabinet. Local authorities consult on which arrangements local people want. If there is a proposal to have a mayor, the local authority must hold a binding referendum. Many councils in England have already conducted consultations with local people on this issue. Local residents can also require a mayoral referendum by organising a petition signed by 5% of local electors or more (10% or more in Wales).
Unquote.
Before drawing up such proposals, the Act requires that a local authority must take reasonable steps to consult the local government electors for, and other interested persons in, the authority’s area.
The term 'reasonable' is a generic and relative one and applies to that which is appropriate for a particular situation.
There can hardly be a more serious situation than an alteration in way in which we are locally governed by the Council.
This consultation therefore requires a method which will produce the maximum informed response from the 262,400 electors and residents.
The Council has many methods at its disposal of communicating with residents. Again I quote from the Councils Website.
Quote:-
Getting involved
We try to give as many people as possible the opportunity to ‘Speak Up’ and there are a number of different ways of getting involved including area forums, citizens panels, door to door surveys, postal and online questionnaires, telephone interviews and discussion groups.
Local Polls
Local Polls are a form of referendum that Councils can carry out to test public opinion within the borough. Local Polls can take place with the use of traditional polling stations or by all-postal ballot.
Unquote.
The Council chose to conduct its consultation by means of a questionnaire in the September issue of Bolton Scene. As far as I am aware none of the other above options were pursued. Nor as far as I am aware was there any pre-notification of this questionnaire in the Bolton News, the Area Forums, the Council Website or in the Libraries.
Although the Scene is delivered free to 120,000 households there are no statistics as to how many are read or how many go directly into the recycling bin.
There is nothing on the front page of the September issue to say that a most important questionnaire is on page 9. Don't throw this away.!!
The questionnaire produced a extremely poor response of 622 replies. Although a majority of respondents were in favour of an elected Mayor the Council has chosen to disregard the results and are therefore pursuing the Leader and Cabinet option.
The two options were laid out without any attempt to provide information about the consequences of choosing one or the other.
For instance it could have been pointed out that the elected Mayor would be able to appoint any Councillor to his Cabinet as he or she saw fit, irrespective of that Councillors Political allegiance thus possibly putting an end to the dominance of one party or another in the conduct of the Council's business.
The elected Mayor might choose to appoint a Cabinet of all the talents thus utilising the best brains amongst the elected Councillors irrespective of party.
They have not therefore provided in the questionaire sufficient information or detail for the electors to come to a conclusion which might have prompted more people to reply to it.
It is my contention that in using a singular method of consultation without pre-notification and in ill-informing the residents about the different consequences of the two options means that it did not fulfill the requirement of the Act that it was 'reasonable'.
I am writing to the Secretary of State concerned to point this out and it may well be that, should he concur, he will oblige Bolton Council to re-consult.
In any event, if a petition, signed by 5% of the electors of the Borough and asking for a referendum on the matter, can be presented to the Council, then they are obliged to conduct one.
I intend to organise such a petition, on the basis that the proposed method of operation of the Council would only further entrench the waste and incompetence that is described daily in your newspaper and that a new independant broom is required to achieve maximum value for our money and a greater attention being paid to the views of the Boroughs electors.
Those of you of a like mind may care to contact me at 'kathy.maddox@ntlworld.com' or write to me at the address below
Paul Richardson
24 Ripon Close
Little Lever
Bolton
(Dear Editor. I know this is a long letter but the subject matter is of the utmost importance to the residents of Bolton and your readers. I think the Council have contrived to do the minimum to avoid the possibility of an elected Mayor and they are having one over on us - again)
For your convenience I attach the relevant copy of Bolton Scene.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
By this time, cynical old me suspects that Bolton Council think they have got away with this one, so, I thought in for a penny -in for a pound.
I have thus e-mailed John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the following and copied it to Brian Iddon, David Crausby and Ruth Kelly.
(Because I used my unpublished letter above as the main part of the e-mail I have bracketed this.)
.....................................................................................
Attn Mr John Denham
Secretary of State
Department of Communities and Local Government
Dear Sir,
May I bring to your attention a matter related to the statutory requirement in the Local Government Act of 2000 for Local Authorities to carry our a reasonable consultation with local government electors and other interested parties before drawing up proposals for changes in the way in which the Executive operates.
In the case of Bolton Metropolitan Authority it is my contention that this requirement has not been fulfilled.
My reasons for arriving at this conclusion are contained in a letter which I have written to the Bolton News (so far unpublished) which I copy for you below.
(BODY OF LETTER TO BOLTON NEWS)
To further re-inforce my point might I draw your attention to a definition of 'consultation'
Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in large-scale projects or laws and policies. It usually involves notification (to publicise the matter to be consulted on), consultation (a two-way flow of information and opinion exchange) as well as participation (involving interest groups in the drafting of policy or legislation.
The process is typical of Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand or Australia.
Incidentally when I down loaded the 'Petitioning for elected mayor - information pack' from your website, this is also still quoting the three options.
I would be grateful if you would examine the situation in relation to Bolton Council's handling of this matter and form a judgement as to whether they had satisfied the requirements of the Act.
It is obvious that Bolton Council ( or any other for that matter) would have a vested interest in not wanting an elected mayor which is why, presumably, the requirement for reasonable consultation was incorporated into the Act.
At the moment it seems that Bolton Council have only paid lip service to their statutary duty and have conducted and concluded the business with indecent haste.
Yours sincerely - etc
End of e-mail.
.....................................................................................
Let's see if that does anything !!!!
In regard to the Bolton News. I am becoming increasingly worried and irritated with the watered down reports and comments that it is producing which are not reflecting the frustrations and anger of many residents on many subjects - particularly related to the activities of the Council.
I have therefore just written a letter (yet to be published) based on a report in the Daily Mail this week.
It goes as follows.
.....................................................................................
Dear Sir,
Perhaps your readers would be interested in the recent comments of The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, to the Conference of the Society of Editors.
He said that people should get their information about what local Councils are doing from independent sources.
Quote "I don't want the proceedings of the local Council to be reported to the public by an employee of that Council." Unquote
He further said that local papers that used to report fully on what town halls are doing have been weakened by the recession and the growth of the internet and in some cases Councils have launched their own expensively produced papers to rival the independent press.
In addition he said that some local weekly newspapers are relying on Council press officers for the information they print. Quote " If that is true it should send a shiver down all our spines. Unquote.
I am sure that the Bolton News is not one of these papers. If it is not already, the Bolton News should be the major campaigning organ holding the Council to account in terms of prudence, efficiency and competence. In the unlikely event that anyone ever read the Bolton Scene they would think that everything in the Bolton garden was lovely - as opposed to the reality that it is not.
By all means the Council are entitled to publicise its achievements but it should also honestly own up to its shortcomings, the catalogue of which grows longer by the week.
The public would respect them more for that.
As Lord Judge said - 'Spin is neither a cornerstone or a bulwark of a free society'.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
It may well be that should a referendum of all the electors of Bolton be held then the majority would reject the option of an elected mayor and opt instead for the Leader and Cabinet. If that was the case - fine!!
The point is we don't know.
The Council don't know.
We ought to know and that would be the end of the matter.
The Government have, to their credit, done a survey about the attitudes of the public to elected mayors, Councils, Local democracy and the like. It makes interesting reading. There are 91 pages, well laid out which I'm certainly not going to reproduce here but the link for those interested is:-
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/154842.pdf
Good reading to you all.
For your info I copy the questionnaire ex Sept Bolton Scene
.....................................................................................
How the councilmakes decisions
Do you want an Elected Mayor or a Leader?
The way the council makes decisions will change next year. And voters will have a
big say about what happens
New national legislation – the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
Act 2007 – means the council has to change the way it is governed by May next year. It also has to ask residents what they think of the different systems of government on offer and which they prefer.
At present the council is governed by a leader and an executive. The full council (a meeting where all councillors can attend) decides who the leader is and who the members of the executive are and their roles and responsibilities.
The system was introduced in 2000 following national legislation to change the old
committee model of government. Whichever system is introduced, voters will still elect councillors to represent them and their area. Now the council is asking for people’s views about the following two options by October 4. Based on these views the council will have to make a decision about which method it chooses by the end of the year. The new system will have to be introduced by May.
Please fill in the form opposite and return to us by freepost. For further information visit our website: www.bolton.gov.uk where you can also make your comments.
If you require additional forms for other members of your household, these can be collected from your local library or you can complete the form online.
The Elected Mayor
• A mayor elected by voters every four years
• The elected mayor does not represent a ward
• The mayor is not a councillor
• Between two and nine councillors appointed to the executive by the elected mayor
• The elected mayor decides the roles and responsibilities of the executive members
• The executive submits the budget and strategic policies to the full council which can only amend or overturn the policies by a two-thirds majority • The civic role of the mayor would have to be discussed
The ‘new style’ Leader and cabinet
• A councillor is elected as leader of the executive for up to four years by the full council
• The length of term of the leader is decided by how long is left until she or he has to stand for election again
• Between two and nine councillors are appointed to the executive by the leader
• The leader appoints a deputy leader to act on their behalf when necessary
• The leader decides the roles and responsibilities of the executive members
• The executive submits the budget and strategic policies to the full council which can amend or overturn them by a majority
Questionnaire;
Which option would you prefer for Bolton?
Please tick one box only.
The Elected Mayor
The ‘new style’ Leader and cabinet
Why? (Please write your comments in the box below)
Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Postcode: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................................................................................
Cheers - Paul
I suppose I'm becoming cynical but, having had some experience documented in this blog of Bolton Council's 'Consultations', I was incensed by an article in the Bolton News a few weeks ago where Sean Harris the Chief Executive stated that following the pathetic response to the so called Consultation on the future operation of the Executive of the Council, where the majority were in favour of an elected mayor, they were going to ignore it anyway and go their own sweet way.
I rattled off a letter to the Bolton News which this time round they actually printed. It went as follows.
...................................................................................
Dear Sir
So we are not to have an elected mayor. The powers that be decided to consult the people. Another consultation - this time through Bolton Scene, almost guaranteed to produce a poor numerical response.
Come on, -who reads it? It goes either straight into the recycling bin or the outside toilet. But this suits the purposes of the Town hall, elected or employed. Turkeys just don't vote for Christmas.
Even though a miserable number of 622 people took part in the consultation and even though a majority supported the idea, this was sufficient for it to be ignored. If only 622 people voted in a Council by election then whoever the majority voted for would be elected. What's the difference?
Unfortunately the Council have a track record on arranging consultations which they can then ignore. What about the Market Hall? What about spending £31,500 ripping up a perfectly good footpath in Little Lever that's only been down five years? (Work starts this Sunday).
The existing structure of the Council, with it's executive members for this and that, means that the Councillors elected by Little Lever, irrespective of party, are 'junior' to certain other councillors. Does this mean that they are less able to effectively represent their electors?
The proposed Cabinet structure would only make this situation worse. This is emulating the situation with national Government. It doesn't lend itself to more efficiency, it just means they can do what they want for four or five years.
Why is the Chief Executive, Sean Harris, commenting on this? It's Cliff Morris's job. He is the one who was elected. Who is running this Town hall?
My manifesto for running for elected mayor would be obvious to all and no doubt would be shared, no doubt, by many other of your readers who would want to run.
Competence, Value for money, scrap final salary gold plated inflation proofed pension schemes, scrap all this political correctness stuff, stop translating every document into a dozen different languages, fewer chiefs, more workers, enforce the laws and by-laws without fear or favour, make people do the jobs they are paid to do with our money and don't think you only need to listen to the electors in the three weeks before polling day.
The question of elected mayors should be put to a referendum of registered electors and be independently organised by the Electoral Commission, not left to the whim and fancy of the incumbents who wish to preserve their position.
My points are completely without reference to one party or another, but democracy has to happen every day, not just once a year or once every five years.
End of Letter
.....................................................................................
Since then there have been several other mentions of Elected Mayors in letters and Columns.
First of all Alan Calvert of the Bolton News
.....................................................................................
Unlike some of the people who write letters to this newspaper, I think the idea of an elected Mayor for Bolton is plain daft.
I have said the same thing at various intervals over the years and it pleases me that council leaders dismissed this option after a consultation exercise that provoked little interest or excitement.
Six people used one of the 4,000 leaflets produced by the council and only 35 people returned the tear-off consultation slip contained in 120,000 copies of Bolton Scene, the council newspaper.
Some 622 people took part in a month-long consultation that cost £4,300 and, not surprisingly, more people were in favour of an elected Mayor than against.
The ruling Labour executive, supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition parties, chose to ignore this flawed democratic result and concentrate on the other option being pushed by the government — a new-style council leader and executive.
A final decision on whether to adopt this new system will be made by the full council on December 9.
This new leader — presumably Labour’s Cliff Morris — would have more responsibility and that would apply equally to John Walsh (Conservative) and Roger Hayes (Liberal Democrat) if either of those gentlemen were to win the most seats at next year’s election.
Before the decision is taken it would be helpful if the council could spell out the details in full for our benefit.
Would the new-style leader receive a larger allowance and be expected to put in more hours?
Would the same apply to a new executive?
If so, what would the advantages be for those of us who pay council tax?
I am delighted that the elected Mayor idea is dead in the water, but I have yet to be convinced that the alternative change is necessary for the town.
End of article.
.....................................................................................
This prompted a letter from a James Birch of Sharples as follows:-
.....................................................................................
So, Bolton Council have decided that we will not have an elected mayor.
I don’t like to say I told you so, but several weeks ago my letter was published in The Bolton News saying that the decision had already been made by the council and I was proved right.
No, I did not attend any meetings or return any tear-off consultation slip from the Labour Party propaganda paper Bolton Scene which just goes directly into my paper recycle bin
.
As I said before, what’s the point?
I believe that 622 people took part in the consultation which was not sufficient numbers for the council. Could they inform me, and others, how many people would be an acceptable number? 722? 922? 1,022?
If a councillor was elected with a majority of less than 622 I presume that would not be acceptable and a second election would be called.
Dream on!
According to Alan Calvert (The Bolton News, November 9), Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats chose to ignore this flawed democratic result.
Is democracy flawed if you don't get the result you want?
It is typical of Bolton Council’s “I know best attitude”.
I look forward to December 9 when the full council will again vote for no change.
End of letter
.....................................................................................
In response to this a letter was published from Peter Johnson as follows:-
.....................................................................................
James Birch complains that a majority of 622 people (0.07% of the electorate) failed to procure an elected executive mayor for Bolton.
In the days when the Labour Movement had more regard for the rules and procedures thanit apparently does now, a major constitutional proposal of this significance would require not merely a simple majority but the support of 75% of all those eligible to vote, it being deemed in the absence of such levels of support that there is insufficient majority for constitutional change
Clearly, most of the population is not in the slightest interested in such a change. Not suprising.
A senior colleague in a Yorkshire Authority said to me a couple of years ago 2 If you are thinking of having an elected mayor, I have one simple word of advice for you - Don't"
"We've got one and you can't keep tabs on the blighter and if we can't keep tabs on him what chance has the ordinary punter?"
Says it all, really.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
In the meantime I had been researching the background to all this and composed a further letter to the Bolton News which summarised my findings.
I sent this a week ago but so far it hasn't been published. (Hopefully because it was too long, rather than any collusion between the Bolton News and the Council)
The letter went as follows.
.....................................................................................
Dear Sir
Further to my letter of last week about an Elected Mayor for Bolton, a little further research has produced the following points of interest.
The Local government Act of 2000 requires the Council to draw up proposals for the operation of executive arrangements within the Council. They have a choice of two options.
A directly elected Mayor and a Cabinet of up to nine Councillors appointed by that Mayor.
A Leader elected by the Council and a Cabinet of up to nine Councillors not necessarily appointed by the Leader.
Originally there was a third option of Elected Mayor and Council manager but for English Authorities this was removed by a Local Government Act in 2007.
Bolton Council as of today however are still quoting the three options on their Website.
Quote:-
Mayoral referendums
The Local Government Act 2000 set out a major change in the way local authorities in England and Wales are run. Most local authorities, except some of the smaller district councils in the area of a county council, operate 'executive arrangements'. There are three types of executive arrangement set out in the Act, two of which involve a directly elected mayor: mayor and cabinet, and mayor and council manager. The other involves a leader (who is elected by councillors) and cabinet. Local authorities consult on which arrangements local people want. If there is a proposal to have a mayor, the local authority must hold a binding referendum. Many councils in England have already conducted consultations with local people on this issue. Local residents can also require a mayoral referendum by organising a petition signed by 5% of local electors or more (10% or more in Wales).
Unquote.
Before drawing up such proposals, the Act requires that a local authority must take reasonable steps to consult the local government electors for, and other interested persons in, the authority’s area.
The term 'reasonable' is a generic and relative one and applies to that which is appropriate for a particular situation.
There can hardly be a more serious situation than an alteration in way in which we are locally governed by the Council.
This consultation therefore requires a method which will produce the maximum informed response from the 262,400 electors and residents.
The Council has many methods at its disposal of communicating with residents. Again I quote from the Councils Website.
Quote:-
Getting involved
We try to give as many people as possible the opportunity to ‘Speak Up’ and there are a number of different ways of getting involved including area forums, citizens panels, door to door surveys, postal and online questionnaires, telephone interviews and discussion groups.
Local Polls
Local Polls are a form of referendum that Councils can carry out to test public opinion within the borough. Local Polls can take place with the use of traditional polling stations or by all-postal ballot.
Unquote.
The Council chose to conduct its consultation by means of a questionnaire in the September issue of Bolton Scene. As far as I am aware none of the other above options were pursued. Nor as far as I am aware was there any pre-notification of this questionnaire in the Bolton News, the Area Forums, the Council Website or in the Libraries.
Although the Scene is delivered free to 120,000 households there are no statistics as to how many are read or how many go directly into the recycling bin.
There is nothing on the front page of the September issue to say that a most important questionnaire is on page 9. Don't throw this away.!!
The questionnaire produced a extremely poor response of 622 replies. Although a majority of respondents were in favour of an elected Mayor the Council has chosen to disregard the results and are therefore pursuing the Leader and Cabinet option.
The two options were laid out without any attempt to provide information about the consequences of choosing one or the other.
For instance it could have been pointed out that the elected Mayor would be able to appoint any Councillor to his Cabinet as he or she saw fit, irrespective of that Councillors Political allegiance thus possibly putting an end to the dominance of one party or another in the conduct of the Council's business.
The elected Mayor might choose to appoint a Cabinet of all the talents thus utilising the best brains amongst the elected Councillors irrespective of party.
They have not therefore provided in the questionaire sufficient information or detail for the electors to come to a conclusion which might have prompted more people to reply to it.
It is my contention that in using a singular method of consultation without pre-notification and in ill-informing the residents about the different consequences of the two options means that it did not fulfill the requirement of the Act that it was 'reasonable'.
I am writing to the Secretary of State concerned to point this out and it may well be that, should he concur, he will oblige Bolton Council to re-consult.
In any event, if a petition, signed by 5% of the electors of the Borough and asking for a referendum on the matter, can be presented to the Council, then they are obliged to conduct one.
I intend to organise such a petition, on the basis that the proposed method of operation of the Council would only further entrench the waste and incompetence that is described daily in your newspaper and that a new independant broom is required to achieve maximum value for our money and a greater attention being paid to the views of the Boroughs electors.
Those of you of a like mind may care to contact me at 'kathy.maddox@ntlworld.com' or write to me at the address below
Paul Richardson
24 Ripon Close
Little Lever
Bolton
(Dear Editor. I know this is a long letter but the subject matter is of the utmost importance to the residents of Bolton and your readers. I think the Council have contrived to do the minimum to avoid the possibility of an elected Mayor and they are having one over on us - again)
For your convenience I attach the relevant copy of Bolton Scene.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
By this time, cynical old me suspects that Bolton Council think they have got away with this one, so, I thought in for a penny -in for a pound.
I have thus e-mailed John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the following and copied it to Brian Iddon, David Crausby and Ruth Kelly.
(Because I used my unpublished letter above as the main part of the e-mail I have bracketed this.)
.....................................................................................
Attn Mr John Denham
Secretary of State
Department of Communities and Local Government
Dear Sir,
May I bring to your attention a matter related to the statutory requirement in the Local Government Act of 2000 for Local Authorities to carry our a reasonable consultation with local government electors and other interested parties before drawing up proposals for changes in the way in which the Executive operates.
In the case of Bolton Metropolitan Authority it is my contention that this requirement has not been fulfilled.
My reasons for arriving at this conclusion are contained in a letter which I have written to the Bolton News (so far unpublished) which I copy for you below.
(BODY OF LETTER TO BOLTON NEWS)
To further re-inforce my point might I draw your attention to a definition of 'consultation'
Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in large-scale projects or laws and policies. It usually involves notification (to publicise the matter to be consulted on), consultation (a two-way flow of information and opinion exchange) as well as participation (involving interest groups in the drafting of policy or legislation.
The process is typical of Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand or Australia.
Incidentally when I down loaded the 'Petitioning for elected mayor - information pack' from your website, this is also still quoting the three options.
I would be grateful if you would examine the situation in relation to Bolton Council's handling of this matter and form a judgement as to whether they had satisfied the requirements of the Act.
It is obvious that Bolton Council ( or any other for that matter) would have a vested interest in not wanting an elected mayor which is why, presumably, the requirement for reasonable consultation was incorporated into the Act.
At the moment it seems that Bolton Council have only paid lip service to their statutary duty and have conducted and concluded the business with indecent haste.
Yours sincerely - etc
End of e-mail.
.....................................................................................
Let's see if that does anything !!!!
In regard to the Bolton News. I am becoming increasingly worried and irritated with the watered down reports and comments that it is producing which are not reflecting the frustrations and anger of many residents on many subjects - particularly related to the activities of the Council.
I have therefore just written a letter (yet to be published) based on a report in the Daily Mail this week.
It goes as follows.
.....................................................................................
Dear Sir,
Perhaps your readers would be interested in the recent comments of The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, to the Conference of the Society of Editors.
He said that people should get their information about what local Councils are doing from independent sources.
Quote "I don't want the proceedings of the local Council to be reported to the public by an employee of that Council." Unquote
He further said that local papers that used to report fully on what town halls are doing have been weakened by the recession and the growth of the internet and in some cases Councils have launched their own expensively produced papers to rival the independent press.
In addition he said that some local weekly newspapers are relying on Council press officers for the information they print. Quote " If that is true it should send a shiver down all our spines. Unquote.
I am sure that the Bolton News is not one of these papers. If it is not already, the Bolton News should be the major campaigning organ holding the Council to account in terms of prudence, efficiency and competence. In the unlikely event that anyone ever read the Bolton Scene they would think that everything in the Bolton garden was lovely - as opposed to the reality that it is not.
By all means the Council are entitled to publicise its achievements but it should also honestly own up to its shortcomings, the catalogue of which grows longer by the week.
The public would respect them more for that.
As Lord Judge said - 'Spin is neither a cornerstone or a bulwark of a free society'.
End of letter.
.....................................................................................
It may well be that should a referendum of all the electors of Bolton be held then the majority would reject the option of an elected mayor and opt instead for the Leader and Cabinet. If that was the case - fine!!
The point is we don't know.
The Council don't know.
We ought to know and that would be the end of the matter.
The Government have, to their credit, done a survey about the attitudes of the public to elected mayors, Councils, Local democracy and the like. It makes interesting reading. There are 91 pages, well laid out which I'm certainly not going to reproduce here but the link for those interested is:-
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/154842.pdf
Good reading to you all.
For your info I copy the questionnaire ex Sept Bolton Scene
.....................................................................................
How the councilmakes decisions
Do you want an Elected Mayor or a Leader?
The way the council makes decisions will change next year. And voters will have a
big say about what happens
New national legislation – the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
Act 2007 – means the council has to change the way it is governed by May next year. It also has to ask residents what they think of the different systems of government on offer and which they prefer.
At present the council is governed by a leader and an executive. The full council (a meeting where all councillors can attend) decides who the leader is and who the members of the executive are and their roles and responsibilities.
The system was introduced in 2000 following national legislation to change the old
committee model of government. Whichever system is introduced, voters will still elect councillors to represent them and their area. Now the council is asking for people’s views about the following two options by October 4. Based on these views the council will have to make a decision about which method it chooses by the end of the year. The new system will have to be introduced by May.
Please fill in the form opposite and return to us by freepost. For further information visit our website: www.bolton.gov.uk where you can also make your comments.
If you require additional forms for other members of your household, these can be collected from your local library or you can complete the form online.
The Elected Mayor
• A mayor elected by voters every four years
• The elected mayor does not represent a ward
• The mayor is not a councillor
• Between two and nine councillors appointed to the executive by the elected mayor
• The elected mayor decides the roles and responsibilities of the executive members
• The executive submits the budget and strategic policies to the full council which can only amend or overturn the policies by a two-thirds majority • The civic role of the mayor would have to be discussed
The ‘new style’ Leader and cabinet
• A councillor is elected as leader of the executive for up to four years by the full council
• The length of term of the leader is decided by how long is left until she or he has to stand for election again
• Between two and nine councillors are appointed to the executive by the leader
• The leader appoints a deputy leader to act on their behalf when necessary
• The leader decides the roles and responsibilities of the executive members
• The executive submits the budget and strategic policies to the full council which can amend or overturn them by a majority
Questionnaire;
Which option would you prefer for Bolton?
Please tick one box only.
The Elected Mayor
The ‘new style’ Leader and cabinet
Why? (Please write your comments in the box below)
Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Postcode: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................................................................................
Cheers - Paul
Monday 16 November 2009
Updates
Not blogged for ages.
Pressure of work - staff shortages - but mainly because my burning issues have been in a bit of a flux. Anyway, things have settled down a bit so I'll try and update.
THE VILLAGE CENTRE
Finally got some response from Bolton Council re the spending of the £50k. Councillor John Byrne, the Executive Member who had signed off the spending proposals, had promised a review of the spending and a meeting was duly held between the Councillors and the Officers.
The upshot of this was that the block paving remained but signage and planters were to be included. Paula Connor, the Project Officer, subsequently attended a meeting of 'Love Little Lever' to make a presentation and immediately before this meeting had the conducted tour and was reminded of the Councils own projects within the Little Lever Action Plan, only two of which have definitely been concluded in the three and a half years since it started.
This same presentation was given to Public at the Area Forum meeting on 9th November.
I think that the Town Hall acknowledges that the consultation on this had been inadequate and it's just a pity that pressure hadn't been applied some six months before it actually was.
By this time the block paving had been started and should be completed within the next two or three weeks.
So -a battle lost in one sense, but we've still got the rest of the war to fight.
The Councillors and officers are looking towards the next amount of £50k from the District Improvement Fund due in 2011/1012. This time round, they have promised the proper consultation that didn't happen last time.
Personally I don't think there will be another £50k. Is it just me or do people not realise the scale of cutbacks that face the Public Sector after this current spending round?. I project that between 10 and 15% will be the order of things and District Improvement Funds of £100k per year across the four townships will be high up on the list of candidates. Same arguments apply to the Health Centre and the new Magistrates Court which has also been delayed.
Putting the £50k for this year behind us, there are still things that can and must be done before March of next year. The first three of these are and should be easy to achieve.
1) The repainting of the Walls
2) Moving the re-cycling bins
3) Getting serious about the ongoing litter and small scale anti-social behaviour. CCTV - Remember? -Fifty Thousand Pounds worth - Who's using it????
The Precinct buildings are still the main sticking point. I have said repeatedly that until the owners in person are identified - the people who 'own the money' (or not, as the case may be) - then there is no prospect of stopping the ongoing unacceptable dilapidation of the main feature of the Centre.
I have identified the Management Company for the Precinct as being Winex Services Ltd, which has been established for 14 years. These are the people the Council have been speaking to and who have said that they don't propose to spend any money, at least not this year.
The company's registered address is 8 RODBOROUGH ROAD LONDON NW11 8RY.
The directors are Ian Anthony Gilbert and Solomon Jakobowitz and a former director is Victor Winegarten.
The Councils 'contact' for the Precinct is Solomon at Winex Services and both Solomon and Victor are the people whom some of the Precinct tenants are in touch with.
The financial reports for Winex preclude this company from being the owner of the Precinct.
As I have said previously the 'Owners' of the Precinct, according to the Land Registry, are Miller Ltd - registered in Gibraltar. It may well be that Miller has the same directors as Winex. Anyway, by tomorrow, when I receive the Profile of this company from Companies House in Gibraltar, all will become a little clearer.
The main question is - do these guys have any money?. If they haven't and are up to their eyeballs with the mortagage company then fine - we know where we stand. If they have, then the Council must come to some arrangement with them to persuade them, or compel them, or enter into partnership with them to get something done to the place.
An interesting point:- Paula Connor has come up with a map from the Highways Department which shows that although the Precinct Square is private property is has been 'Adopted' by the Council as a Public Highway and so this removes the anomaly of the Council spending money on private land. Indeed, the subsided flags have been re-laid since my last Blog.
Just as an aside, the same map reminds us that all the properties from the Village Chippy up to and including the Co-op (R.I.P) orginally had little gardens or 'pallasadins' (spelled wrong) in front and the first three feet or so of the pavement remains private property.
Blog updates still to come. The Health Centre, Love Little Lever and my new burning issue - Elected Mayors
Paul
Pressure of work - staff shortages - but mainly because my burning issues have been in a bit of a flux. Anyway, things have settled down a bit so I'll try and update.
THE VILLAGE CENTRE
Finally got some response from Bolton Council re the spending of the £50k. Councillor John Byrne, the Executive Member who had signed off the spending proposals, had promised a review of the spending and a meeting was duly held between the Councillors and the Officers.
The upshot of this was that the block paving remained but signage and planters were to be included. Paula Connor, the Project Officer, subsequently attended a meeting of 'Love Little Lever' to make a presentation and immediately before this meeting had the conducted tour and was reminded of the Councils own projects within the Little Lever Action Plan, only two of which have definitely been concluded in the three and a half years since it started.
This same presentation was given to Public at the Area Forum meeting on 9th November.
I think that the Town Hall acknowledges that the consultation on this had been inadequate and it's just a pity that pressure hadn't been applied some six months before it actually was.
By this time the block paving had been started and should be completed within the next two or three weeks.
So -a battle lost in one sense, but we've still got the rest of the war to fight.
The Councillors and officers are looking towards the next amount of £50k from the District Improvement Fund due in 2011/1012. This time round, they have promised the proper consultation that didn't happen last time.
Personally I don't think there will be another £50k. Is it just me or do people not realise the scale of cutbacks that face the Public Sector after this current spending round?. I project that between 10 and 15% will be the order of things and District Improvement Funds of £100k per year across the four townships will be high up on the list of candidates. Same arguments apply to the Health Centre and the new Magistrates Court which has also been delayed.
Putting the £50k for this year behind us, there are still things that can and must be done before March of next year. The first three of these are and should be easy to achieve.
1) The repainting of the Walls
2) Moving the re-cycling bins
3) Getting serious about the ongoing litter and small scale anti-social behaviour. CCTV - Remember? -Fifty Thousand Pounds worth - Who's using it????
The Precinct buildings are still the main sticking point. I have said repeatedly that until the owners in person are identified - the people who 'own the money' (or not, as the case may be) - then there is no prospect of stopping the ongoing unacceptable dilapidation of the main feature of the Centre.
I have identified the Management Company for the Precinct as being Winex Services Ltd, which has been established for 14 years. These are the people the Council have been speaking to and who have said that they don't propose to spend any money, at least not this year.
The company's registered address is 8 RODBOROUGH ROAD LONDON NW11 8RY.
The directors are Ian Anthony Gilbert and Solomon Jakobowitz and a former director is Victor Winegarten.
The Councils 'contact' for the Precinct is Solomon at Winex Services and both Solomon and Victor are the people whom some of the Precinct tenants are in touch with.
The financial reports for Winex preclude this company from being the owner of the Precinct.
As I have said previously the 'Owners' of the Precinct, according to the Land Registry, are Miller Ltd - registered in Gibraltar. It may well be that Miller has the same directors as Winex. Anyway, by tomorrow, when I receive the Profile of this company from Companies House in Gibraltar, all will become a little clearer.
The main question is - do these guys have any money?. If they haven't and are up to their eyeballs with the mortagage company then fine - we know where we stand. If they have, then the Council must come to some arrangement with them to persuade them, or compel them, or enter into partnership with them to get something done to the place.
An interesting point:- Paula Connor has come up with a map from the Highways Department which shows that although the Precinct Square is private property is has been 'Adopted' by the Council as a Public Highway and so this removes the anomaly of the Council spending money on private land. Indeed, the subsided flags have been re-laid since my last Blog.
Just as an aside, the same map reminds us that all the properties from the Village Chippy up to and including the Co-op (R.I.P) orginally had little gardens or 'pallasadins' (spelled wrong) in front and the first three feet or so of the pavement remains private property.
Blog updates still to come. The Health Centre, Love Little Lever and my new burning issue - Elected Mayors
Paul
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