Spring is Sprung

I apologise to my many (!) followers who have been deprived of their fix of Scouse wit and wisdom – well you're respite is over – I'm back! Well until the next disaster. I have been off-line as my home computer has been out of action due to some technical conflict problem with the operating software (no doubt my fault). At least that is what I was told – with a sad purse of the lips and the word "Vista" accompanied by a dismissive shake of the head. It went down immediately after I had a conversation with a mate who was trying to persuade me to switch to an AppleMac. So it might have just been a fit of machine pique. Whatever.......
Spring has most definitely arrived as County Hall has seen a frenzy of nest feathering (and the ejection of at least one cuckoo).

I have posted previously about the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRP). Amongst other things, they removed the Special Responsibility Allowances for the vice-Chairman of all committees. Unsurprisingly this was met with wails of protest from the Administration, although this has not seemed to include the Mountain Man of Mawr. Perhaps he had in mind the consequences of his previous outburst over loss of allowances and didn't want to put his forthcoming re-elevation to the Lord Mayorality at risk – but then again he wasn't directly affected. Anyway, I don't want to be churlish as he has been quite nice to me recently and very amusing on the pomposity of the Brilliant Comrade.

Last Thursday's Council meeting saw the Administration's response. After wingeing for years that it was unreasonable to ask politicians to set their own pay, what is the first thing that our illustrious Leader does – politically interfere with the result. Throwing away an important principle for a cheap political stunt – whilst at the same time cynically (and hypocritically) creating a load of new committees with attached allowances for his Administration cronies. It was actually sickening to hear him trying to explain this increase as a direct and necessary consequence of getting rid of hundreds of staff. (No I didn't understand it either!).

The proposal to double the number of area Planning committees was particularly daft – as Swansea has just finished a long-running skirmish with the District Auditor about our having two committees – he wanted one. Swansea had originally had four committees – but in an attempt to speed-up the process had adopted various suggestions from my Group, including reducing the number of committees to two. So now we have gone back to where we were several years ago – I cannot see that the DA will lie down for this.

However, the most cynical manoeuvre, was the creation of a Chair of Council. Erm...this is apparently different to the Presiding Officer, having different and (as far as I can see) less responsibility – but getting paid the same! I have sat in meetings over the past 18 months or so with previous, the current and next Lord Mayors, the Leader, Chief executive and other officers discussing the changing role of the Lord Mayor – the principle part of which was to re-institute the Lord Mayor chairing Council meetings. All had thought this a good idea. I thought that it had been helped along by a letter from WAG as a result of questions from the Intervention Board about the Presiding Officer's involvement in Scrutiny. Apparently not – in an unambiguous two-fingered response, we have created a new post and in order to pay lip-service to the previous discussions created a new form of ceremonial Council that the Lord Mayor will be allowed Chair!

The new Chair of Council is based on an inexcusable (and inexplicable) misinterpretation of the relevant legislation. But I am guessing that the then (and now departed) Monitoring Officer – and how I would like to post something about his leaving – had some involvement in that so perhaps it wasn't surprising. This new post is not to be paid a Special Responsibility Allowance but an amount to cover the expenses of the office – which have been set (entirely co-incidentally!) at the same level as previous - £9,700 or thereabouts.

However, given that there have been no previous expenses of the post – it's difficult to see how anyone is going to get paid – and I am sure that the DA will have a view of this. I understand that the Leader is planning to go to the IRP to argue for this allowances. I'd really like to be a fly on the wall.

In the debate Paxton Hood-Williams castigated the moral bankruptcy of the Administration – many of whom were visibly uncomfortable with having to vote for the changes – but vote for them they did. And in a recorded vote – I feel another advert coming on! Cllr Margaret Smith described the report as a "lactating financial teat...at which they were all greedily sucking" or words to that effect.

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz,

The Admin knows where their pockets iz