Tag: councillors value for money

Havering Council Meeting, 22nd November, 2023 (part one)

This meeting was amazing. It pivoted round councillor behaviour, slacker councillors and the failure of Overview and Scrutiny.

Councillor Behaviour

The Mayor (@18)1 was displeased by David Taylor’s off-hand manner towards her. This was quickly followed by her rebuking the chamber for chatter whilst she was speaking. (@21)

The Leader was surrounded by councillors treating the chamber like a canteen. Brian Vincent ate throughout the meeting, Gerry O’Sullivan brought a mug into the chamber and Oscar Ford had a flask, from which he drank repeatedly. An appalling example to impressionable children watching.

Slacker Councillors

Jason Frost (@1:40) made the important point that his committee should scrutinise 70% of the budget but it can’t do it effectively. His committee is allocated about 20 hours per year which is far too little time for the workload. He proposed that his committee should become two scrutiny committees to cope. Ray Morgon (@1:44) denied Frost’s task was impossible. A case of defending the indefensible.

Then things turned nasty. Keith Darvill (@1:51) launched a blistering attack on slacker councillors.2 He said another Overview and Scrutiny committee wouldn’t happen because of unwilling councillors. The sad fact is that some councillors are semi- detached in their commitment to their democratic responsibilities. They want the honour of being a councillor and £200 a week, without fulfilling their duties.  Frankie Walker (@1:54) gave forceful support to Darvill. Keith Prince (@1:59) noted that inadequate scrutiny was a common theme amongst failing councils. Ray denigrated the sincerity of Jason Frost’s proposal.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All times (@ 18) in brackets relate to this webcast

2 For councillor attendance see Councillors attendance summary, 2 June 2023 – 25 November 2023 | The London Borough Of Havering The current leader in the competition for the Slacker of the Year Cup  is Sue Ospreay, with 33% attendance

Havering’s Councillors: Value for money – March, 2023

Councillors are at the apex of Havering’s democracy. Their only obligation is attending eight Council meetings a year. In Havering there’s nothing like a 100% attendance, which is astonishing. Meetings are notified a year in advance and absence should be exceptional.

Recently1 I discussed attendance at three Council meetings, January-March 2023. This received critical comments from councillors and I wondered if I was unfair. I’ve analysed all eight meetings held in March.2

Those meetings should have generated 162 councillor attendances. The actual outcome was 139. This is a 14.19% non-attendance rate. A 14% absentee rate is a key indicator of malaise in an organisation. High absenteeism is associated with organisations in decline. ‘Red Flag’ events, like absenteeism, aren’t brushed aside because they’re a cause of urgent action to rescue the situation.

But!

Councillors aren’t employees. They can’t be sacked and managers – party leaders – can’t sanction them in a meaningful way. It’s entirely the responsibility of councillors how they perform. And they get paid regardless of their effectiveness.4

The Conservative Leader, Damian White, is faced with a dramatic problem. He can’t persuade enough of his members to fill the Conservative quota on the Places Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This is disgraceful and worse than absenteeism. It is contemptuous of democracy itself.

Councillors aren’t doing the people of Havering a favour by attending meetings. It’s their public service duty.

Notes

1 Havering’s Councillors: Value for money? – Politics in Havering

2 Monthly meetings calendar – March 2023 | The London Borough Of Havering One meeting doesn’t have published minutes and I don’t know which councillors were present

3 If a councillor doesn’t attend any council meeting for six months they lose their seat Part 3: The Good Councillors Guide – …ask your council