RPT : Redacted ,Protracted & Traduced

 

“We wanted justice but you wouldn’t give it to us” – Nigel “Highbrow” Hobro

Now we’ve made no secret of the fact that at times we have found the BIG/ISUS/Working Neighbourhoods whistleblowing case hard to fathom (and 600 + page Committee reports don’t help) However we do know that when we hear Wirral Council using the dreaded phrase “lessons have been learned” we know that something has gone badly awry.

Therefore when Her Ladyship told me that history was repeating itself and tied me to the wingback chair in the library I first thought we were re-enacting our wedding night. However she was just ensuring that I sat through a recording of the finale of the long drawn out saga fronted by indomitable whistleblower Nigel “Highbrow” Hobro and his Aussie mate James Griffiths by showing me a recording of Wednesday’s Audit and Risk Mendacity Committee (we’re not saying that ARMC are mendacious but we are claiming that this committee has experienced enough “misleading statements” in it’s time).

We’re grateful for the fact that the recording and incisive commentary by John Brace on his blog saved us the trouble of looking at the back of  Burgesski’s head ( fashion tip from Her Ladyship: Comrade needs a haircut)……..

SEE HERE

 So from his usual observation point on the front row the ever perceptive Mr.Brace drew parallels with the infamous Morton whistleblowing case which still casts a long,dark shadow over council proceedings. This suggests that once again that the “lessons learned” by Wirral Council warrant an F for Fail.

Certainly the redacted reports and protracted investigations reminded us of past misdemeanours although such was the welter of evidence produced by Hobro that the “No Case To Answer” stamp failed to materialise for once.The meeting itself seemed to be a bit of a fractious affair overseen by a charming new council officer/councillor double act : Tetchy Tour and Crabby Crabtree

Indicative of  the opposing viewpoints on display was the matter of a particularly contentious Internal Audit report which according to Burgesski “needed further work” whilst Hobro described it as a “pathetic piece of work” ( although we’re not sure whether he meant the report or the author !)………However we must refrain from such honestly held opinions as Burgesski doesn’t take kindly to council staff (past or present) being “traduced on social media” (!)  – funny how Burgesski doesn’t seem quite so animated on council officers being “traduced” by councillors ( but let’s not go there for the time being)  or council officers traducing whistleblowers.Perhaps he was concerned he’d have to whip out the cheque book again if someone’s feelings were hurt.” If only that cheque book could talk ! ….” sniped Her Ladyship , to which I retorted ” If that cheque book could talk it would be bound to be gagged”.

The general conclusion was that , yes ,mistakes were made ,nobody’s perfect,we’re moving forward etc;etc;etc when it came to dubious business practices and lax accounting and auditing processes which were supposed to be overseen by Wirral Council.

The people who ended up in hospital,losing their business and getting County Court judgements made against them – were forgotten about in a buck-passing masterclass – from Wirral Council to auditors Grant Thornton to Merseyside Police to North West Development Agency (with whom there are some interesting past associations) and back again.” It was before my time….” was a familiar refrain heard during the meeting.

The £46,000 payment to the former Chief Internal Auditor wasn’t before your time though was it Comrade?

As we’ve already reported the day after this meeting Burgesski announced his retirement so it seems that having once declared  : “We’ve won the war now it’s time to win the peace” it would appear that he no longer has the stomach for the fight.

And who can blame him?………there’s a H-bomb on the horizon.

H is for Hubris.

 

Consultant Insults

Wirral Leaks has been for some time highlighting the worrying situation of Wirral Council hiring highly paid consultants at exorbitant rates whilst at the same time explaining how services must be cut and staff need to be made redundant and anyway it’s all the governments fault.

Wirral Council’s use of consultants seems to be for 3 reasons :

1) For when they’re in a hole of their own making – “Here’s a shed-load of money if you write any old flannel as long as the conclusion is – “No case to answer” !

2) Absolve the Council of responsibility for decision-making  – ” It was the independent,external consultant who recommended that we cull half of our workforce and lay waste to public services.We didn’t want to really ,honestly…..”

3) Compensate for the sheer ineptitude and negligence of  council officers on megabuck salaries who seem to have absolutely no idea what they’re bloody doing!  – As her Ladyship said ” If I was on a life raft and reliant on a full set of chief officers for survival I think I’d throw myself overboard and take my chances with the sharks”

The latest beneficiaries of the Wirral Council runaway gravy train are a consultancy firm by the name of V4 who have given Wirral Council the V-sign and been paid £260,000 for what was initially a £50,000 job – SEE HERE

Nice work if you can get it and you can get it when Wirral Council officers and councillors are simply not up to the job and where it’s always amateur hour!.

Despite this work being authorised by Labour cabinet member Cllr.Chris Meaden , Power Boy Pip displays  his renowned leadership skills and plays pass the parcel by claiming  that the issue “concerns officers”. We were also interested to read about this case that “delegated powers” to  Wirral Councillors allow payment of monies up to the value of £50,000. That’ll explain the £48,000 for “hurt feelings” then!  – ” Let’s keep it just under £50,000 and we’ll throw in a couple of packets of Benson & Hedges”.

Finally Wirral Leaks would like to offer some advice to Wirral Council staff currently facing redundancy who fancy a piece of the action.

A guide on how to become a Wirral Council consultant is helpfully set out on the ever illuminating Wirral In it Together blog:

SEE HERE
The steps are:

1. Prove yourself “useful” to Wirral Council
2. Nab a 12 month contract
3. Set up a consultancy company
4. Think of a number – treble it and there you have your daily rate (£515 in this case)
5. Get your contract extended (with or without councillor scrutiny).
6. Trebles all round!

That’s A Bit Rich …

 

When the Taxpayers Alliance published the top earners at local councils we were very proud  that 11 of Wirral Council’s most esteemed officers made the list. We were happy in the knowledge that they deserve it as they are your betters and they continue to wisely spend your money on really really important things, like erm.. well,… themselves.

 

SEE HERE

 

 As a celebration of such amazing value for money we couldn’t be arsed to ask the Council’s press office what was the justification for such inflated salaries would be – as clearly they’re not performance related!

 

But if we were genuinely going for transparency we’d imagine it would read : “ The salaries are keep us in the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed – from top of the range BMWs to replica football kits to personalised number-plates to an endless supply of snug Ugg boots and packets of fags – we are the L’Oreal of Local Government – because we’re worth it – now please go away with your tiresome Freedom of Information requests and calls for accountability…we’re far too busy spending Council Tax payers money on important stuff. Things such as the Mayor making ceremony , a snip at just £5,000 of YOUR money and the well invested £50,000 on corporate hospitality at the Golf….”

See HERE

Trebles all round ?

 

The Curious Incident of The Dogging in The Night -time

Now we like normally try to avoid the more lurid and distasteful aspects of modern life at Leaky Towers which we consider to be an enclave of civilisation in an increasingly vulgar world (lets leave Eldritch out of it for the moment). However our critical gaze was drawn to a recent article where a “tired and emotional” couple brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ” street entertainment”

SEE HERE

The article coyly referred to lewd acts performed on the prom in New Brighton and quoted that : “Magistrates heard that the CCTV operator phoned Merseyside Police and provided them with a link to the live feed of the incident…..”

This sordid incident happened in June 2014…..three months after 11 people were made redundant and the CCTV control room was to be closed and overall control passed to Merseyside Police.

However we are led to believe that police controllers neither have the time nor the inclination to monitor all of Wirral’s 110 cameras even after reassuring senior council officers that they could. So who is this lone ranger CCTV operator in the council’s control room?

We are eagerly anticipating that we will be able to find out following a curious Freedom Of Information requesting minutes of a meeting with the discarded CCTV staff and Wirral Council Senior Officers

SEE HERE

A source  states: “This request has obviously hit a nerve as they know what was discussed at this meeting and what grievances the staff put forward including public safety issues and their idea of forward planning which absolutely none of it was implemented apart from the disgusting way they forced us out of our positions…….”

Which sounds to us rather like the hurried uncoupling of the sex romp pair on New Brighton prom !

UPDATE!!!!!

A source writes

“This incident was common viewing amongst the Community Patrol and almost all members of staff have been shown the footage. Some have watched it several times. This is a clear breach of the DPA 1998.

At one point there where five members of staff and a manager all around the viewing console enjoying the movie of the day.
Council staff have also allowed the current agency staff to view this evidential footage.

This alleged breach of data protection really needs full investigation and further opportunities removed immediately.But it will probably be covered up as usual after being investigated by the very ex-plods who have allowed it to happen.

http://ico.org.uk/what_we_cover/taking_action/dp_pecr
The ICO can fine organisations severely depending on the seriousness of the breach.”

Let Them Eat Cake

“Wirral Against The Cuts” have compared Wirral’s latest SOLACE approved Chief Executive Graham “The Goofmeister” Burgess to France’s infamous Queen, Marie Antoinette!!!  “The arrogance of the people who took this decision is similar to Marie Antoinette, the French queen who advised the starving people of Paris who couldn’t afford bread to buy cake instead.”  STORY HERE

This statement was prompted by GB’s somewhat insensitive decision to splash out on a £25,000 upgrade for town hall bosses’ offices (BUT NOT A SHOWER , OH NO! NOT THAT!)  as the authority prepares for massive budget cuts and jobs losses. This is what is known in the trade as “An EPIC PR FAIL!

We thought this a tad harsh, that was until we were given a picture of a recent council meeting in GB’s recently refurbished palace, ahem sorry, office … We now think they may well have a point !

Keep Your Hat on

*incoming message* Please find advice to “Leaders” within Wirral Council when discussing redundancies. *stop* ….

Key Messages for Leaders

1. This is hard
2. Talk more
3. Cascade through conversation
4. Don’t answer what you can’t – escalate to FAQ’s
5. Read Intranet
6. No decisions made as yet
7. Leadership – Visibility – Communication – Consistency – Ownership
8. Print articles for staff without Intranet access
9. Cascade One Brief on Friday 9 November 2012

See it in all its glory HERE

Nb/

 Not that they would try and feign empathy you understand but Ricky Gervais would have an absolute field day if ever he decided to revive “The Office” format and based it on a local authority.

 

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Now, how about this for rank hypocrisy from new Wirral CX Frank Drebin look a like, Graham Goofy Burgess – In a lovely soft focus interview in the Daily Post in May 2007 our hero GB tells us about his time in Liverpool as a union rep and how he fought those nasty Militants and banished them forever. Something he’s dined out on ever since…  

“……. the Militants’ solution to creating a legal budget – issuing 90-day redundancy notices to all 30,000 staff – immediately put the political leadership on collision course with unions.

Graham says: “They would say to us, ‘It’s just a piece of paper, of course we’ll re-employ everybody’ but from a union point of view, we couldn’t accept that because there was no guarantee.

“Liverpool at this time was, in many ways, in a desperate state. Hundreds of jobs were being lost at the big employers every week. The council was the employer of last resort, so we couldn’t let that happen.”

Fast forward to today and the latest leak … (click)  – Poacher turned gamekeeper

Taxi anybody ???

But GB is used to this for where GB lands redundancies seem to follow …see HERE

Love, Verity Snoop x