Friday, October 17, 2008
Politics Are Back!!
There are a few very definite advantages in no longer being a full-time Councillor. One of which is that I am now able to attend as an observer all meetings of the Council that I feel are either of interest to myself, or they are very important to the residents living in the area of Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons.
I recently attended to observe a meeting of the Schools Sub Committee, the first meeting held since the May election. Because of the changes in some of the Councillors now sitting on that committee, the first meeting was mainly concerned with bringing everyone up to date on the situation. However, I will continue to attend all meetings relating to the schools, and I will also keep everyone informed of the plans, proposals and the ups-and-downs of that particular committee!
Another advantage in no longer being a Councillor is that I now have time to be involved in the politics of the situation. All elected members have very different views on how they use their time as an MP, AM, Councillor etc. - And, for me I felt that since being elected means that you are there to represent the whole community no matter what the individuals politics are, mine were put on hold.
Not any more, my politics are back! It is for this reason that I am going to be keeping residents informed through my blog of the political game-playing, the funny side of it - and the very serious side of some of the consequences of political point-scoring.
A good starting point to highlight political game-playing relates to the questions asked by Councillors at the monthly meetings of the Council. A clear indication of the actual agenda behind many of the questions asked can be seen in a question which was put to Cllr. John Dixon at the July meeting of the Council. John is the executive member for the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing portfolio, and is a Councillor for the area of Adamsdown.
The question came from Councillor Dave Walker who is the Cllr. for Lisvane. The question asked was:-
'Does the Executive Member believe in upholding the principles of
honesty and integrity, as outlined in the code of conduct promoted
by this Executive and approved by this Council, in all areas of his
political work?'
The reply from Councillor Dixon was:-
'I’m not certain I have understood what Cllr Walker means by
“promoted by this Executive”. The code is a mandatory one, as set
out in The Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) (Wales)
Order 2008 and was agreed by Council on 15 May 2008 without
ever having been before the Executive for decision. If anything, the
code is one that has been “promoted” by the Standards and Ethics
Committee following their consideration of the Model Code on 27
November 2007.
So, as the application of the Code is mandatory on all members,
compliance is an issue of statutory obligation, rather than belief.
I would, however, remind Cllr Walker that he personally would be
in breach if he has not, as per Section 6.1.c of Part 5 of the Code of
Conduct, reported to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
and to the Monitoring Officer any conduct which he reasonably
believes breaches the code.
Having said that, I now wait for Cllr Walker’s real question.'
I am hoping over the next few days to receive a copy of the questions asked at the October meeting of the Council. I wait with interest to see whether John was right, and if so, where is that question actually leading?
Another question asked by the same Cllr. at that July meeting gives further insight in to the political game-playing and point-scoring on both sides.
Question from County Councillor Walker:–
'Since your Deputy Leader is facing a writ for libel based on leaflets
which the Monitoring Officer is quoted as describing as ‘factually
incorrect and impugns the reputation and proper action of the
council’, will you advise Members, particularly from your own
group, to resist the temptation to make false or exaggerated claims
about their fellow councillors which could result in personal writs
and negative media coverage, which could bring this Council into
further disrepute?
Reply from County Councillor Berman (Leader of Cardiff Council and Cllr. For Plasnewydd)
'Firstly, I would point out that I do not think it is appropriate for me
to comment on matters that are being considered outside of the
Council so I will not specifically address the matters contained in
the preamble to your question – although it is my understanding
that your assertion is not strictly correct.
In relation to exaggerated claims, I would politely suggest that you
should perhaps have words with your Group’s spokesperson on
finance who repeatedly claims on an annual basis to the press that
he believes he can deliver a 0% increase in Council Tax without
cutting services and then proposes an alternative budget in this
Chamber which is only able to deliver a 0% increase in Council
Tax by cutting services.
I am unsure what specifically you might be referring to when it
comes to false or exaggerated claims.
Is it the claim that appeared in a Conservative leaflet distributed in
Heath prior to the 2007 Assembly elections stating that the then
local Liberal Democrat councillors for Heath wanted to force
children “hoping to move from Ton yr Ywen Primary to the
excellent Llanishen High away from the area into other secondary
schools with spare places”? In fact one of those councillors had
publicly expressed her opposition to the proposals and the other two
had publicly stated their belief that the proposals should proceed to
a consultation in order that they could then use that consultation to
argue against them.
Is it the claim in Conservative leaflets distributed prior to this year’s
local elections that voting Conservative would lead to South Wales
Police being better funded by the Council when in fact the Council
does not actually fund South Wales Police?
Is it the claim in Conservative leaflets issued prior to this year’s
local elections that Conservative Councillors had forced Cardiff
Council to put extra resources into anti-graffiti initiatives? In fact
the alternative budget the Conservative Group proposed this year
(which was voted down by the Council) contained no proposal to
provide additional funds for anti-graffiti initiatives and actually
sought to make substantial unspecified savings in the service area
responsible for tackling graffiti.
Is it in the claim in a Conservative leaflet being circulated in
Pentyrch this week that my party has been in charge of Cardiff
Council for five years? In fact the Liberal Democrats have held the
leadership of the Council for just four years and seventeen days.
As I have indicated before in relation to similar questions, it is not
necessarily my role as a politician to advise Members on issues
such as legal matters for which the Council specifically employs
properly qualified members of staff to provide such advice.
However, if you have a specific issue of concern then I would be
happy to give it what consideration I am able to.'
It is amazing what dreadful memories we politicians seem to have. Things which Parties do when in power are forgotten about when another Party is in the driving seat, and suddenly this becomes unacceptable, and they will now fight for the residents against these appalling proposals.- Even though at the time of the last administration they fully supported them!
This is shown in a question from Councillor Dianne Rees (Cllr. for Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons), who takes the following stand:-
'Liberal Democrats often campaign alongside Conservatives to retain post
offices, which are at the heart of our communities and vital for the most
vulnerable. The Local Government Association says that “If Post Offices are
being considered for closure, then local councils must look at alternative ways
of keeping services available”.
What action did you take to try to keep services available in the recent spate
of closures and will you follow the example of Conservative Essex County
Council and 150 other local authorities keen to follow its lead ,in re-opening
closed branches in Cardiff, such as Old St Mellons Post Office, as a
“community service” providing a computer terminal, with free access to the
Council’s website, provided from a community projects budget and do you
agree that this is what effective local government should be about?'
Reply from Councillor Berman:-
'I am not sure if it is so much the case that Liberal Democrats are now
campaigning alongside Conservatives on this issue as that, in more recent
years, Conservatives have decided to join Liberal Democrats and also Plaid
Cymru in campaigning on this issue. The Conservatives were indeed much
less active and, as the evidence would show, significantly less effective in
campaigning to retain local post offices during the period between 1979 and
1997 whilst in Government at Westminster. During that time the
Conservatives in fact oversaw the closure of around 3,500 post office
branches across the UK.
As I outlined in my response to a similar question from Councillor Robson
back in March of this year, I have previously discussed this matter with the
Chief Executive and – like many other local authorities across the UK – the
Council has been monitoring the situation in Essex, where a post office in
Epping was recently re-opened with the financial support of the County
Council.
Unfortunately, this kind of initiative did not emerge in time to save those post
offices in Cardiff that were closed most recently by Post Office Ltd. as part of
the Network Change Programme. Furthermore, such an initiative requires a
significant financial investment by local authorities and, as the new
Conservative Chairman of the Local Government Association has pointed out,
it will not be possible for every local authority to go down this route and those
who do will not be able to save every post office.
We also have to be cautious in giving the impression that local authorities can
easily pick up and fund services that the UK Government walks away from.
In that context, I would remind you that this Council is already working with
South Wales Police to keep the 101 single non-emergency number going in
Cardiff after the UK Labour Government withdrew all funding for the service
earlier this calendar year. Given the tough financial constraints under which
we the Council operates, there is a limit to the extent to which we can take
such action.
The Executive has, however, made a political commitment to taking forward
the development of ‘one-stop shop’ advice centres in local communities
around the city, as outlined our Capital Vision document. This will assist in
providing better public access to Council services and will be linked to the
expansion of the ‘Connect to Cardiff’ (C2C) contact centre.
We will also explore the establishment of partnerships with local post offices
and other community-based organisations in order to develop new
mechanisms for allowing people to access the local services they value and
need within their local communities.'
Supplementary Question from Councillor Rees:-
'I am pleased that you are monitoring and learning from the excellent action of
Conservative Essex County Council but you haven’t answered my question.
What action did you take to try to keep services available in the recent spate
of closures in Cardiff? Can you outline what action this Council took when
the closures were announced?'
Reply from Councillor Berman:-
'Obviously your memory is not quite what it was because I would have
thought it is quite apparent to all Members what action we took – because we
certainly involved all Members in the actions. We invited representatives of
the Post Office to come to the Council to hear the concerns of Councillors.
All Members who wished to were invited to attend that. In fact, I seem to
recall that you were one of those Members who attended that meeting and
raised your concerns. So it does strike me as a little bit odd that you are trying
to say you have no knowledge of any action that was taken when, actually,
you participated in some of the action that was taken.
We put in a very strong response to the consultation which was agreed
through the Executive as well. But ultimately the fact of the matter is that the
consultation, as many people felt, was pretty much a sham because a decision
had already been taken that so many Post Offices had to go. Therefore, we
were quite clearly told that in fighting to try to save some Post Offices, the
likelihood was that other Post Office branches would just have to shut instead.
So we worked as hard as we could within the options that were available to
us.
But really you are trying to seek to blame us when the blame really should go
to the UK Government who have created the situation whereby Post Offices
are in such dire financial straits because they have been completely deprived
of income.
But as you can see from my original answer to your question, it’s not just
something that has come about under the present Labour Government because
under the previous Conservative Government 3,500 Post Offices closed. So
when we hear that one Conservative-led Council has saved one post office I
think we have to take that as something that rings quite hollow when it is
taken against 3,500 Post Offices the Conservatives presided over closing.'
Is it only politicians who are so adept at speaking with a forked tongue? Anyway, watch this space, I will continue to keep everyone up to date with the truth behind the game!
I recently attended to observe a meeting of the Schools Sub Committee, the first meeting held since the May election. Because of the changes in some of the Councillors now sitting on that committee, the first meeting was mainly concerned with bringing everyone up to date on the situation. However, I will continue to attend all meetings relating to the schools, and I will also keep everyone informed of the plans, proposals and the ups-and-downs of that particular committee!
Another advantage in no longer being a Councillor is that I now have time to be involved in the politics of the situation. All elected members have very different views on how they use their time as an MP, AM, Councillor etc. - And, for me I felt that since being elected means that you are there to represent the whole community no matter what the individuals politics are, mine were put on hold.
Not any more, my politics are back! It is for this reason that I am going to be keeping residents informed through my blog of the political game-playing, the funny side of it - and the very serious side of some of the consequences of political point-scoring.
A good starting point to highlight political game-playing relates to the questions asked by Councillors at the monthly meetings of the Council. A clear indication of the actual agenda behind many of the questions asked can be seen in a question which was put to Cllr. John Dixon at the July meeting of the Council. John is the executive member for the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing portfolio, and is a Councillor for the area of Adamsdown.
The question came from Councillor Dave Walker who is the Cllr. for Lisvane. The question asked was:-
'Does the Executive Member believe in upholding the principles of
honesty and integrity, as outlined in the code of conduct promoted
by this Executive and approved by this Council, in all areas of his
political work?'
The reply from Councillor Dixon was:-
'I’m not certain I have understood what Cllr Walker means by
“promoted by this Executive”. The code is a mandatory one, as set
out in The Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) (Wales)
Order 2008 and was agreed by Council on 15 May 2008 without
ever having been before the Executive for decision. If anything, the
code is one that has been “promoted” by the Standards and Ethics
Committee following their consideration of the Model Code on 27
November 2007.
So, as the application of the Code is mandatory on all members,
compliance is an issue of statutory obligation, rather than belief.
I would, however, remind Cllr Walker that he personally would be
in breach if he has not, as per Section 6.1.c of Part 5 of the Code of
Conduct, reported to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
and to the Monitoring Officer any conduct which he reasonably
believes breaches the code.
Having said that, I now wait for Cllr Walker’s real question.'
I am hoping over the next few days to receive a copy of the questions asked at the October meeting of the Council. I wait with interest to see whether John was right, and if so, where is that question actually leading?
Another question asked by the same Cllr. at that July meeting gives further insight in to the political game-playing and point-scoring on both sides.
Question from County Councillor Walker:–
'Since your Deputy Leader is facing a writ for libel based on leaflets
which the Monitoring Officer is quoted as describing as ‘factually
incorrect and impugns the reputation and proper action of the
council’, will you advise Members, particularly from your own
group, to resist the temptation to make false or exaggerated claims
about their fellow councillors which could result in personal writs
and negative media coverage, which could bring this Council into
further disrepute?
Reply from County Councillor Berman (Leader of Cardiff Council and Cllr. For Plasnewydd)
'Firstly, I would point out that I do not think it is appropriate for me
to comment on matters that are being considered outside of the
Council so I will not specifically address the matters contained in
the preamble to your question – although it is my understanding
that your assertion is not strictly correct.
In relation to exaggerated claims, I would politely suggest that you
should perhaps have words with your Group’s spokesperson on
finance who repeatedly claims on an annual basis to the press that
he believes he can deliver a 0% increase in Council Tax without
cutting services and then proposes an alternative budget in this
Chamber which is only able to deliver a 0% increase in Council
Tax by cutting services.
I am unsure what specifically you might be referring to when it
comes to false or exaggerated claims.
Is it the claim that appeared in a Conservative leaflet distributed in
Heath prior to the 2007 Assembly elections stating that the then
local Liberal Democrat councillors for Heath wanted to force
children “hoping to move from Ton yr Ywen Primary to the
excellent Llanishen High away from the area into other secondary
schools with spare places”? In fact one of those councillors had
publicly expressed her opposition to the proposals and the other two
had publicly stated their belief that the proposals should proceed to
a consultation in order that they could then use that consultation to
argue against them.
Is it the claim in Conservative leaflets distributed prior to this year’s
local elections that voting Conservative would lead to South Wales
Police being better funded by the Council when in fact the Council
does not actually fund South Wales Police?
Is it the claim in Conservative leaflets issued prior to this year’s
local elections that Conservative Councillors had forced Cardiff
Council to put extra resources into anti-graffiti initiatives? In fact
the alternative budget the Conservative Group proposed this year
(which was voted down by the Council) contained no proposal to
provide additional funds for anti-graffiti initiatives and actually
sought to make substantial unspecified savings in the service area
responsible for tackling graffiti.
Is it in the claim in a Conservative leaflet being circulated in
Pentyrch this week that my party has been in charge of Cardiff
Council for five years? In fact the Liberal Democrats have held the
leadership of the Council for just four years and seventeen days.
As I have indicated before in relation to similar questions, it is not
necessarily my role as a politician to advise Members on issues
such as legal matters for which the Council specifically employs
properly qualified members of staff to provide such advice.
However, if you have a specific issue of concern then I would be
happy to give it what consideration I am able to.'
It is amazing what dreadful memories we politicians seem to have. Things which Parties do when in power are forgotten about when another Party is in the driving seat, and suddenly this becomes unacceptable, and they will now fight for the residents against these appalling proposals.- Even though at the time of the last administration they fully supported them!
This is shown in a question from Councillor Dianne Rees (Cllr. for Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons), who takes the following stand:-
'Liberal Democrats often campaign alongside Conservatives to retain post
offices, which are at the heart of our communities and vital for the most
vulnerable. The Local Government Association says that “If Post Offices are
being considered for closure, then local councils must look at alternative ways
of keeping services available”.
What action did you take to try to keep services available in the recent spate
of closures and will you follow the example of Conservative Essex County
Council and 150 other local authorities keen to follow its lead ,in re-opening
closed branches in Cardiff, such as Old St Mellons Post Office, as a
“community service” providing a computer terminal, with free access to the
Council’s website, provided from a community projects budget and do you
agree that this is what effective local government should be about?'
Reply from Councillor Berman:-
'I am not sure if it is so much the case that Liberal Democrats are now
campaigning alongside Conservatives on this issue as that, in more recent
years, Conservatives have decided to join Liberal Democrats and also Plaid
Cymru in campaigning on this issue. The Conservatives were indeed much
less active and, as the evidence would show, significantly less effective in
campaigning to retain local post offices during the period between 1979 and
1997 whilst in Government at Westminster. During that time the
Conservatives in fact oversaw the closure of around 3,500 post office
branches across the UK.
As I outlined in my response to a similar question from Councillor Robson
back in March of this year, I have previously discussed this matter with the
Chief Executive and – like many other local authorities across the UK – the
Council has been monitoring the situation in Essex, where a post office in
Epping was recently re-opened with the financial support of the County
Council.
Unfortunately, this kind of initiative did not emerge in time to save those post
offices in Cardiff that were closed most recently by Post Office Ltd. as part of
the Network Change Programme. Furthermore, such an initiative requires a
significant financial investment by local authorities and, as the new
Conservative Chairman of the Local Government Association has pointed out,
it will not be possible for every local authority to go down this route and those
who do will not be able to save every post office.
We also have to be cautious in giving the impression that local authorities can
easily pick up and fund services that the UK Government walks away from.
In that context, I would remind you that this Council is already working with
South Wales Police to keep the 101 single non-emergency number going in
Cardiff after the UK Labour Government withdrew all funding for the service
earlier this calendar year. Given the tough financial constraints under which
we the Council operates, there is a limit to the extent to which we can take
such action.
The Executive has, however, made a political commitment to taking forward
the development of ‘one-stop shop’ advice centres in local communities
around the city, as outlined our Capital Vision document. This will assist in
providing better public access to Council services and will be linked to the
expansion of the ‘Connect to Cardiff’ (C2C) contact centre.
We will also explore the establishment of partnerships with local post offices
and other community-based organisations in order to develop new
mechanisms for allowing people to access the local services they value and
need within their local communities.'
Supplementary Question from Councillor Rees:-
'I am pleased that you are monitoring and learning from the excellent action of
Conservative Essex County Council but you haven’t answered my question.
What action did you take to try to keep services available in the recent spate
of closures in Cardiff? Can you outline what action this Council took when
the closures were announced?'
Reply from Councillor Berman:-
'Obviously your memory is not quite what it was because I would have
thought it is quite apparent to all Members what action we took – because we
certainly involved all Members in the actions. We invited representatives of
the Post Office to come to the Council to hear the concerns of Councillors.
All Members who wished to were invited to attend that. In fact, I seem to
recall that you were one of those Members who attended that meeting and
raised your concerns. So it does strike me as a little bit odd that you are trying
to say you have no knowledge of any action that was taken when, actually,
you participated in some of the action that was taken.
We put in a very strong response to the consultation which was agreed
through the Executive as well. But ultimately the fact of the matter is that the
consultation, as many people felt, was pretty much a sham because a decision
had already been taken that so many Post Offices had to go. Therefore, we
were quite clearly told that in fighting to try to save some Post Offices, the
likelihood was that other Post Office branches would just have to shut instead.
So we worked as hard as we could within the options that were available to
us.
But really you are trying to seek to blame us when the blame really should go
to the UK Government who have created the situation whereby Post Offices
are in such dire financial straits because they have been completely deprived
of income.
But as you can see from my original answer to your question, it’s not just
something that has come about under the present Labour Government because
under the previous Conservative Government 3,500 Post Offices closed. So
when we hear that one Conservative-led Council has saved one post office I
think we have to take that as something that rings quite hollow when it is
taken against 3,500 Post Offices the Conservatives presided over closing.'
Is it only politicians who are so adept at speaking with a forked tongue? Anyway, watch this space, I will continue to keep everyone up to date with the truth behind the game!
