[Updated below 10.40] The core purpose of a local authority is the delivery of statutory services. Many would argue that it ought to be strictly limited to that.
It is service delivery that is the calculation base of a council’s annual revenue grant.
The future of services in an area is therefore the primary concern of members elected to represent their ward constituents; and it is also their inalienable responsibility to concern themselves with the situation of services across Argyll and Bute.
A council which places the business of the nature and continuation of services beyond the ability of any elected member to be part of the key decision taking process on these specific matters must therefore be inexcusably opposed to the democracy which is the basis of local authority elections.
This is what is currently happening at Argyll and Bute Council
On 16th March all councillors were notified by internal governance czar, Charles Reppke, that: ‘The Chair [Ed: Councillor Dick Walsh] of the Policy and Resources Committee has advised of his intention to call a Special Meeting of the Committee on 2nd April 2015 to consider an item on Services Choices ; the meeting will take place in the morning although the exact time is still to be confirmed. Meantime, I would be obliged if you would note the date of this meeting in your diary. The formal agenda for the meeting will be issued in due course .’
That agenda, as is characteristic of this council, was not sent out by Douglas Hendry, Executive Director for Customer Services, until 26th March.
This gave the few members who take their papers electronically, six working days notice of the content of the material to be considered at this meeting. For the luddite majority of councillors who apparently persist in taking their papers by hard copy, that specific content would not have got to them in under two or three working days.
The single substantive item on the agenda was: ‘Services Choices’ – supported by ‘Report by Interim Head of Strategic Finance [Pages 1 -138]. The volume of the papers concerned is made clear by these page numbers and its importance by the agenda item highlighting ‘choices’.
On electronic receipt of the agenda and the link to papers it provided on 26th March, Dunoon Councillor Michael Breslin immediately emailed Council Leader Walsh, the Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee saying, in typical forthright style:
‘This is a parody of democracy Dick. These kinds of issues should be the subject of at least a 2 day seminar with all members then a matter for the full council.
‘There are very serious ramifications from what is being proposed and giving notice of 6 days to us all, while not all of us can vote on what is being proposed, is almost beyond belief but I really should not be surprised.
‘Will you agree to convert this meeting to a full council meeting if that’s possible or will you allow all members to both attend and vote on Thursday coming?
‘Please advise.’
The Sphinx of Kilmory kept his silence and has continued to do so. He has made no response to Councillor Breslin whatsoever, despite this reminder from the councillor on 30th March:
‘Thank you yet again for not replying Cllr Walsh.
‘I assume you don’t intend to provide a general provision for those of us not on the P&R committee to vote on Thursday.
‘Douglas, [Ed: Douglas Hendry, lord high executioner of council business] please accept this as notice under CS 22.1 of the constitution that I intend to attend and may wish to vote.’
No response has been received by Councillor Breslin and the meeting is this morning, 2nd April.
In the last manifestation of former and current Council Leader, Dick Walsh’s administrations, there was a running row about his establishment and use of an Executive Committee. This can be seen to be – and can be – a key instrument of efficiency. It can also be – and was – manipulated to exclude elected members at the point of the taking of decisions certain to be routinely nodded through in the Chamber by the ‘I’ve not read the papers but I support Dick’ brigade.
In its brief and disgraceful period of administration, the SNP coalition ditched the Executive Committee. After the final managed meltdown of the SNP and the return to power of Councillor Walsh, a new committee structure was established and agreed under the watchful eye of commissioners from Audit Scotland.
Amongst this was the Policy and Resources Committee, the new key decision taking body – chaired by Council Leader Walsh – always an indication of the core significance of a committee: power kept close to home.
Members of the Policy and Resources Committee
The Cuts
Officers have revised the ‘mean funding gap’ [aka cuts] for 2016-17 of £10.6m; and a future cumulative gap of £22.2m for the period 2017-2021.
Up to 25% is being cut from ‘non-protected services.
What had been expected to be a wider range of lesser service cuts appears to have been narrowed by officers to fewer services with deeper cuts.
The services targeted for cuts – including major cuts to Adult Care and Children Services ahead of the transfer to the new Health & Social Care Partnership, are:
- Learning Disability
- Mental Health
- Older People
- Child Protection
- Looked After Children
- Education
Amenity Services – keeping communities clean and tidy and emptying the bins – were already cut to the bone.
There is no detail yet on the the needy service users adversely affected by cuts to the services they depend on from the Council.
There is also not detail yet on any job losses which may result.
For the many who will be interested in the detail of what exactly is proposed to be cut, the entire document is online here and there is a summary to be found on pages 21-25, showing the scale of what is to come.
What is certain is that Councillor Breslin will turn up at the meeting this morning. It is unlikely that he will be prevented from attending it – but whether or not he is graciously permitted to vote may be another matter.
Executive Director of Customer Services, Douglas Hendry, replied to the councillor at 18,36 last night, saying that it is down to the Chair [Ed: Councillor Leader Walsh], on the day, to agree or otherwise on voting rights.
Update 10.40
Council Walsh refused to permit Councillor Breslin to vote. He said that this is a strategic issue and [with no sense of irony] that he was being consistent in refusing the right to vote.
Voters will be as perplexed as we are to know that voting on strategic issues is a right which may be withheld from elected members at the Council Leader’s discretion. This really is the world through the looking glass.
