THE ECHO provided several of its precious column inches to covering the island this week. The paper reported that Joan Liddiard (Vice Chair of Canvey Island Town Council) would be hurling her ‘really bad knees’ from an aircraft in the hope of obtaining the £400 cost of making the parachute jump from donations she hoped to collect in support of the local Citizens’ Advice Bureau. One would have thought that, in her position, she could have called upon the civic support of the Town Council to cover the costs of her charitable venture - but perhaps there is nothing left in the local Grant Budget to make that possible.
Dave Blackwell was seen posing for another photograph, yesterday. He was calling for another footpath to be closed-off: this time to protect the Dutch Cottage from island vandals. This is a familiar cry from the Canvey Island Independent Party leader whose instinct is to raise high fences to protect himself and his party from any criticism. Like the party’s Deputy Leader, Anne Wood, who called for Kismet Park’s Adizone to be removed because of yobbish behaviour, Blackwell appears incapable of using his position to influence the one body that is able to address the issue of anti-social behaviour – the police. Rather than liaise privately with those tasked to address the problem, Blackwell prefers to use the issue as a means to obtain Echo coverage and give the vandals the publicity they crave.
If there is a political dimension to the Echo’s coverage of local news, it was perhaps illustrated in their ‘Caravans to pay Council Tax’ story, on Wednesday. The story concerned an issue that had been festering among islanders for many years and which, despite the strong relationship between our previous MP and Blackwell, had never been solved. Thorney Bay Park residents had been getting-away with not paying Council Tax for years – and the Park’s owners had been attracting new residents by advertising the fact.
The Echo’s article broke the news that ‘the Valuation Office Agency has written to the occupiers of 292 homes on the Canvey Island caravan site, informing them they are now eligible to pay band A rates of £1,046 per year;’ but they failed to give credit where it was due. One cannot help think that, had our MP been Bob Spink, the newspaper would have provided a full-page spread on this issue, crafted around his Press Release and quoting his Early Day Motions; ‘speeches;’ and questions raised in the house on the issue. But the driving force behind getting the Valuation Agency to investigate and solve the problem was, in fact, our new MP, Rebecca Harris.
Behind the scenes, Rebecca has been cajoling the Valuation Agency to look at the problem and come-up with a speedy decision; but, unlike her predecessor, she does not court publicity. She has yet to sign or raise an Early Day Motion; only speaks in the house when she has something to say; and her Press Releases are few and far between.
Rebecca just gets on with her job.
But Press Releases, it seems, are still on the CIIP Town Council’s agenda. Again, on Wednesday, Blackwell was giving the Echo his own take on dismissing a second Town Clerk in just 16 months. John Burridge, the latest victim of the TC’s purge, was apparently not asked for his side of the story; but the reporter, Max Orbach, did confront Blackwell over the Julie Abel issue (the previous Town Clerk, who is taking Canvey Island Town Council to the Employment Tribunal over her treatment).
Interestingly, Dave Blackwell is reported as saying: ‘If we lose, [the Julie Abel case] we are covered by insurance, so the taxpayer will not foot the bill.’ But that is not strictly true, is it, Dave?
Legal Insurance would only cover the TC against legal fees incurred on defending their case (normally limited to £50,000) – and would not cover the cost of any penalty imposed by the Court or the other party’s legal expenses, if it was ruled they should be paid. Any penalties imposed by the Court, and any expenses over £50,000, would fall to island residents.
Blackwell seems to be clinging to the hope that the Town Council will be found ‘not guilty;’ but the fact is that the Standards Sub Committee found in Julie Abel’s favour, concerning Blackwell’s treatment of her, on 12th November 2009. That report found that Councillor Dave Blackwell did:-
(a) fail to comply with Paragraph 3(1) of the Code of Conduct by treating Mrs Abel with disrespect and
(b) failed to have regard to statutory advice given by Mrs Abel with respect to the 2009 Armed Forces Day in breach of Paragraph 7 of the Code of Conduct and
(c) improperly used Council resources namely by removing the Chain of Office contrary to Paragraph 6(b)(i) of the Code of Conduct and
(d) used the Town Council Offices for party political purposes in breach of Paragraph 6(b)(ii) of the Code of Conduct
In addition, of course, the Town Council would need to have been fully insured against legal expenses during the time of Julie Abel’s employment – but that does not appear to be the case. The Town Council’s own Purchase Ledger shows that the only insurance payment recorded, to Zurich Municipal, was apparently made on 29 June 2009 – the very day that Julie Abel’s resignation was reported in the Echo.
The Town Council was asked to comment on Blackwell’s statement – and asked if the fact (that the two dates were identical) was just a coincidence – but no response had been received by the time this post was published.
... (21/10/2010) - 'Dear Ted,
'Apologies for taking a while to come back to you. I can confirm that our insurers will continue to fund the council legal expenses and if the Claimant were to succeed in her claim any compensation will be payable by the insurers.
'The payment made on 29th June 2009 was for the renewal notice sent in January 2009. As far as I can tell this invoice was not paid until June so I can confirm that this was a coincidence. If you would like to come into the office to check this information, please advise me and I can make sure that it is available at a time agreed.
'I hope this clarifies your query and if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
'Kind Regards
'Elaine De Can
'Town Clerk'
... (01/11/2010, The Echo) - Tories accused of plotting to wipe out town council
No comments:
Post a Comment