Just like the Thick of It

Another week another set of examples why Labour are not worth a vote in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Firstly the cabinet meeting was yet again an utter farce. It was timed to clash with the 2014 Budget to allow Welsh media outlets to focus on the Mr. Osborne rather than the savage cuts being instigated by the LabCab. The time also meant that many hard working Council Taxpayers would not be able to attend to voice their disapproval at the decisions being made. Although had they attended they would have witnessed another clearly choreographed meeting with all the decisions predetermined and agreed prior to attending the Pavillions. Therefore the cabinet meeting clearly demonstrated a clear lack of respect for democracy.

The meeting also saw the controversial changes to local catchment areas which meant many parents will have to travel farther to take their children to school. Despite campaigners raising the issue with the Cabinet, they were ignored completely. Another topic was the 7.3% rise in charges across the board with the exception of school meals and parking. This means that the price of meals on wheels, burials childcare and leisure facilities will hit hardest those that Labour claim to be the champions of in society. The price hike also raises another interesting question about RCT’s business and financial acumen. If prices are too high then people will not use services like the Cinemas or Swimming Pool (areas which RCT has already cut funding for), therefore there is little or no savings to be made from such an increase. Clearly the Council have not conducted any research into how the rises will affect income from charged service and may have projected savings based on current usage. It is possible to hypothesise that if RCT had cut the price in some areas there may have been increased usage, ergo increased income. Another clear indication that the management and cabinet are not qualified for their positions.

Secondly and straight from The Thick of It comes RCT Council contacting the police to investigate parody accounts of Paul Cannon and Eudine Hanagan. The accounts satirise (although some of the opinions could be quite believable) against the background of the cuts and decisions to put friends and family into senior management posts in the Council. In what was an enormous waste of time and taxpayers money our very own Baldemort and Human Gerbil leapt into action and valiantly contacted the police because people were making fun of them and are now considering legal action. The farce took another turn when Mike Powell, John Bell and Karen Roberts were all accused of setting up the accounts in what appears to be a clear attempt by Labour to capitalise on the use of the parody account storm brewing. Labour may well be criticised for using bully boy tactics to stifle the opposition.  Another thought is that the recent stories have overshadowed the eye watering hikes in prices and have intentionally whipped up a storm about this story as a deflection tactic.

It is a sad indictment of our local Labour Councillors when they put their egos above their constituents’ best interests. The result is a preposterous waste of time and taxpayers money in trying to scare off dissenters with the police and legal action, while our communities are left to crumble. We need to unite and stop the further decimation of our once strong community.

Ysmaliwr

Another RCT Emabarrassment

This week has seen another string of debacles hit RCTCBC and the same result appears to have occurred. The Labour Councillors are completely unaffected or moved by them.

Trinity Mirror ran a picture last night of the image that Joanne Mjadzelics submitted to South Wales Police and RCT Social Services after the airing of Week In Week Out earlier this week. The image was received in 2008 by RCT and triggered an Initial Assessment by children’s services which determined that there was no foul play. Indeed sources close to the case suggest that staff were more convinced by Watkins that Ms. Mjadzelics, as he had claimed that she was nothing more than a bitter ex girlfriend. There were 5 additional contacts between 2008 and 2012, but each time there was little credence given to the claims of Watkins vile nature. Indeed Social Services were investigating just days prior to his arrest and were still on his side according to sources.

Sadly this is another example of poor management and judgement by RCT. There were no initial investigations into how this was missed after Watkins pleaded guilty, which begs the question: In such a high profile case, why didn’t at the very least the cabinet member for children’s services, Annette Davies, call for an internal enquiry? This again illustrates the ineptitude of our elected representatives.

On the subject of ineptitude the Cabinet:

This week saw the first ever live broadcast of a RCT Cabinet meeting all in the name of transparency. However, this was the least transparent meeting I've ever witnessed and looked like something that could have featured in a Local Government version of The Thick of It. Every word was scripted with every member reading aloud like a 3 year old at their first Nativity, with some using their fingers to follow the lines and other completely forgetting where they were. Pontylibdems.org.uk point out the  (and I use the term very loosely) highlights:

·         7 minutes of the Officer reading out his report on Coroner's office.

·         No member of Cabinet spoke other than Cabinet Member responsible who read out a pre-prepared statement. A non-Cabinet (Plaid) Member spoke

·         Just under 3 minutes of Officer reading out his report on Members' indemnity

·         No member of Cabinet spoke other than Cabinet Member responsible who read out a pre-prepared statement.

·         2 minutes of Officer reading out his report on residential parking zones

·         The Cabinet Member for Highways read out a pre-prepared statement, actually following the text with his fingers so he didn't lose his place.

·         Three other Cabinet Members actually spoke about this as did a non-Cabinet (Labour) Member.

·         12 minutes of Officer reading out her report on planning reform.

·         Again the Cabinet Member responsible could not follow the text of his pre written comments without the help of his fingers. No other Member spoke on the subject.

·         Only 1 minute of Officer reading out his report on the Estyn follow up inspection report.

·         Cabinet Member at least didn't need to use her hands to read.

·         Again no other Cabinet Member spoke on the subject.

·         The Director of Education again - this time less than a minute on School Improvement and consortium working.

·         Excellent bit of reading again from the Cabinet Member responsible, but again no comment from anyone else in the Cabinet.

·         Yet again the Director of Education, this time keeping it short again on realignment of special needs services, although slightly longer than his previous two contributions.

·         Cllr Hanagan read her lines again, but apart from a non-Cabinet Member who asked to comment a specific school nobody had anything to say.

All this plus Councillor Mike Forey and Director of Commissioning, Housing and Business Systems (grandiose title) Neil Elliot looking like they were sleeping made the whole event and absolute joke to behold and how media outlets have not got hold of this is beyond comprehension.

Here we have a set of elected representatives treating the electorate with the utmost contempt, believing that we will see their display and think “Don’t they look professional”. How much longer can the electorate tolerate this kind of behaviour? The time for change is upon us, no longer is it acceptable to allow apathy to clear the path for these Labour sheep devoid of passion or dedication to their communities. If we don’t start to change now, Cynon, Rhondda and Taff will die.

Ysmaliwr

Loose Change should equal real change but it won't.

This week the Wales Eye website published an article that highlighted the continuous slew of fiscal mismanagement in Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC. The article demonstrates that senior officers and councillors have allowed RCT to willingly waste over £1m a year on failed IT systems; empty buildings and poor property purchases yet cut services for the vulnerable. Do we not have Scrutiny Committees that should function to stop such reckless abandon with the Council’s budget?

These issues were first raised here and further investigated by the investigative journalism site which resulted in council insiders suggesting that the Social Services IT project is “an embarrassment” and that "We know the public think we have wasted their money but it is nothing to do with us - it is those in charge.”. Despite the publication of the article none of the wider press, including Media Wales, reported on the matter. The press normally lap up stories of public service waste but not on this occasion for some mysterious reason. Indeed, Media Wales are all too happy to publish stories about a passenger fumbling with himself on a train to Treherbert, but do they publish a good investigative article that clearly shows discrepancies between the Labour Cabinets claim of prudent budgeting and the stark reality that the financial void has been caused by poor management? Clearly not.

Nevertheless I and several others shared this article via Twitter to make the wider public aware of the hypocrisy. However, despite many efforts to contact our esteemed political classes in RCT and Westminster regarding the article, no representatives from the parties have replied or given any indication that this article will trigger any sort of investigation into those responsible for the colossal waste and abject failure with regards to the issues raised.

The lack of communication is a clear signal to the electorate: It doesn’t matter how poor those in RCT perform and how obvious you make it to people, we will not listen nor take action. We are above the lowly voters and shall not hold those in the wrong to account.

I asked last night if it is time for those who are disillusioned with the ongoings in RCT to meet up and plan a way forward. Some may think this is a fool’s errand but I believe that you can only push the people of RCT so far. Many were brought up with the faith that Labour will always fight for the working class and with a shield of integrity, defend those who are most vulnerable. Unfortunately the unpalatable truth for some is that Labour will no longer stand shoulder to shoulder with their working man and the shield has been used to bluntly attack those in need. The time for change is approaching and I sincerely others will want to meet and find our way forward to hold those in power to account and fight against the savage cuts imposed by the Labour Cabinet.

Ysmaliwr

RCTCBC's poor planning and money wasting

As the media reports that RCTCBC is about to increase financial pressure on all households in the county by raising council tax by an eye watering 4.5% (£41 per annum), it is worth investigating how RCTCBC have wasted money in many departments over the past few years. Against a backdrop of the Labour Cabinet making the most savage cuts in history by “top-slicing” (a word with as much meaning as blue sky thinking) vital public services and being rushed through with what appears to be very little research or , the question must be asked, why did RCT not react and change their approach years ago?

The first sign that Local Government was going to face monetary restrictions was the dawn of the “credit crunch" in 2008. Financial crises of the 2008 magnitude often have a ripple effect that goes through the Financial sector, then the rest of the Private sector and on to Public and Third Sectors. By April 2009 English Councils were already making significant cuts to their budgets as the then Labour Government slashed the Local Government budget. However Welsh Authorities were protected by WAG, however councils such as RCT should have been preparing for the worst at that time. Instead of being able to plan and implement innovative ways of creating savings, improving managerial and employee accountability and sparing the most vulnerable in our society, RCT decided to continue to knowingly wasting taxpayers’ money, clinging to the hope that the Labour controlled WAG would forever protect them. However, as the public knew all too well, this was never going to be the case.

Let’s have a look at some brief examples of how Cabinet members and senior officials have been allowed to approve decisions that have cost the council’s budget dearly:

Buildings

Ty Elai – This building was rented from 2003-2008 at a cost of £500,000 per annum and purchased in 2008 for £6m with an overall cost of £7.5m. However in 04/05 they council were offered to option to purchase the premises for £2-£3m. A waste of £4.5-£5.5m of the public's money.

Afon House – This building has been empty since January 2013, but the council have still been paying the £30k+ rent.

Has any investigation been undertaken as to how this slew of money was wasted? No.

Has anyone been held accountable and suitably disciplined or dismissed? No.

Projects

RCTCBC is awash with never ending projects that are costing millions of pounds a year to rumble on. A prime example is within Social Services. Their current IT system was due to be fully replaced by ICS (Children’s’ Services) and UAP (Adult Services), which had been developed in a consortium with 5 other authorities, by 2007/08. However, while all of the other authorities have completed the project, RCT still only rolled out about 25% of the system to use. The council is still supplementing an entire section (about £500k p/a) to apparently not move this misfire of a project forward. The council also pay around £150k to the South Wales Consortium for support and development, despite using a miniscule amount of the systems.

Has any investigation been undertaken as to how this slew of money was wasted? No.

Has anyone been held accountable and suitably disciplined or dismissed? No.

Conclusion

RCTCBC and the Labour cabinet have been allowed to run our council into financial ruin and while the examples provided prove a great level of incompetence and a culture of failure, the only people to be penalised are you and me. The future for our county seems very bleak, even with the proposed merger with Merthyr Tydfil CBC.

The council needs to be radically changed from the top down and bottom up. In any other sector the waste accumulated would have resulted in disciplinary proceedings and initiation of capability measures, but RCTCBC  don’t have the leadership to reform the culture and make employees and the Cabinet more accountable for their failures.

The Labour Cabinet will blame Westminster and the Bankers for the cuts they are imposing, but the sad reality is that if it had not been for such reckless financial management and poor decision-making the public would not be paying for the Cabinets' and Senior Officers' mistakes.

The voting public too are not without blame, we as a collective voted these representatives into their positions. However, we can show them what we think of their performance, by voting them out. Next time you are at the polling station deciding where to place your X, just ask yourself - "What has Labour ever done for me?"

Ysmaliwr

Time for a change in RCTCBC

It’s time for a change in Valley politics. No longer can we blindly vote for whoever is in the red rosette just because they are Labour and “We always vote Labour".  The inevitability and the apathy created by Labour flourishing in the Valleys have led to the area falling to economic ruin and increasing deprivation. Labour has had a stranglehold in Local Government, in Welsh Assembly and General Election in the valleys for decades and yet can anyone name 3 things that they have done to specifically improve the area? If you are a Labour supported truly ask yourself if what they have done and are doing is right or even ethical. This is supposed to be the party of the working people, but I fear that party died some time ago and the husk that’s left is unpalatable. All you need to do is look at the RCTCBC Labour Cabinet’s actions and the culture that has been allowed to fester within the Council on their watch.

With confirmed cuts from Phase 1 of RCTCBC’s amounting to £7.6m at the expense of children, the frail,  the vulnerable and the isolated. The Labour controlled cabinet has become that which all Labour supports loath, a reincarnation of the Thatcherite ideology of penalising those already in poverty and deprivation. Many taxpayers outside of the Council, and indeed many within, are unaware of the colossal scale of monetary waste allowed thanks to a culture on zero accountability and scrutiny. I therefore have felt the need to bring to the attention of the public some examples of the corrupt nature of those in Senior Management and the Cabinet, the cronyism, managerial negligence and the financial waste within the council. I have tweeted many examples of this over the last week with some interesting responses.

It is an interesting thought that in both phases we have seen in documentation that all departments will have a root and branch review and yet we hear nothing, no outcomes, no changes and instead we must carry the burden of poor leadership and financial mismanagement within the Cabinet and at Senior Officer level. It is time the people of the Borough brought those in power to account and make them carry out the role that they were elected for. A council is there to provide a service to the public and those in need, not to have jobs for the boys and some incompetent members of staff building up a large pension pot.

I therefore propose an alternative to the Cabinet’s Machiavellian cuts impose by the Labour cabinet that will beat the savings the attempted to save in phase 1 and will not affect front line services:

1.       Reduction of Senior Officers earning over £60000 from 79 to 30 – £3.65m

2.       Removal of Mayoral and Cabinet car hire - £476k

3.       Reduction in PR Department and cessation of Outlook - £800k

4.       All Principal Officer staff to have fixed term contracts and extensions based on performance - £900k

5.       Single Councillor for wards with a population 4000 or under 0 £182k

6.       Cessation of Learning Pool Project - £300k

7.       Outsourcing of IT Functions, Servers, Comms. etc - £1.35m

8.        

Saving = £7.65m

Would any taxpayer protest against these? I doubt it.

Ysmaliwr