Councillors’ allowances and taxpayer funding of unions

Below is a short article I wrote for the Hull Daily Mail, published on Saturday 11 September.

 

At this time of year, we learn how much our local councillors have been paid in allowances and expenses, and the perennial debate commences on whether or not they provide value for money. During the course of my work, I speak to many councillors and there are those who are extremely hardworking and, as in any other profession or walk of life, there are those who are not.

This year, though, the leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Stephen Parnaby, announced councillors in his authority will not receive a rise next year and Carl Minns, leader of Hull City Council, has announced cabinet members will take a pay cut of 5% from January next year. We in the Taxpayers’ Alliance welcome these moves, as it shows councillors are prepared to lead by example as the inevitable cuts to public services start to bite. My only is question to Mr Parnaby is: Why has it taken so long? Hull City councillors have been on a pay freeze for the last four years. Nevertheless, his decision is welcome news.

What has annoyed me – and many others on the Mail’s website – are the comments from Dave Mathieson, the convenor of the UNITE union in Hull. He has called for all councillors in the city to take a pay cut. This is not a reasonable option – considering they have not received an increase in four years – and his comments prove the old adage, people in glass houses should not throw stones.

Mr Mathieson is not paid by his union; he is paid by the taxpayer. He has received salary increases over the past four years and as far as I’m aware, he has not volunteered to take a 5% pay cut himself. I am not ideologically opposed to trades’ unions. If people wish to join one, it is up to them. I think my views are in tune with the majority of the British people, however, it is wrong that every taxpayer in the country indirectly funds them. If UNITE wants a full-time convenor in Hull, it should pay for it themselves.

I have seen the income from my business fall by around a third in the past couple of years. If only my outgoings had done the same. If Mr Mathieson wants to lead by example, perhaps he should resign from his job at Hull City Council, become a full-time employee on his union’s payroll, and relieve taxpayers of the expense of his salary. If he does this voluntarily, I will be the first person to congratulate him.

Senior councillors take a pay cut

It was announced this morning that Hull City Council cabinet members are taking a 5% pay cut. There are those who will say this is gesture politics, and the net savings to taxpayers will be very small. In comparison to the overall council budget, we are talking about small change, however, what this decision does is send a clear message to council workers and council taxpayers that the cabinet is prepared to lead by example.  This also comes on the back of a four-year pay freeze for the city’s councillors, and a decision to reduce the pay of the chief executive when the post was advertised last year.

Today’s announcement is very welcome news and something we in the TPA have been campaigning for. We hope other councils around the country will follow Hull’s example.

East Riding councillors’ allowances rise by 25% in four years

This is the time of year when we learn how much councillors have been paid in allowances and expenses. It was reported in the Hull Daily Mail that a total of £1.2 million was paid to East Riding councillors for 2009/10; an increase of £100,000 on the previous year. Although the council leader, Stephen Parnaby has said  there will be a freeze on allowances next year (an election year), this compares very badly to Hull City Council where councillors have been on a pay freeze for the last four years.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. In 2005/6, at total of £946, 208 was paid to Hull City councillors. In 2009/10, this increased to £955,409; a rise of 1%. In the East Riding, councillors were paid £906,000 in 2005/6. In just four years, councillors have seen their allowances and expenses rise by almost 25%. In the past year, when the rest of us have been struggling to make ends meet, East Riding councillors have enjoyed an increase of almost 10%.

The usual excuses will no doubt be reeled out, saying that councillors give excellent value for money, and they are only implementing the decisions of the Independent Review Panel. This is cold comfort for taxpayers who have seen their council tax bills rise, and have had to pay huge sums of money into the pension funds of senior staff who have applied for early retirement.

The gravy train has not hit the buffers, but perhaps, if we are lucky, we can say it has hit an uphill gradient. Time will tell.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

When the government announced the abolition of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) I was asked by a local journalist if I was already dancing on the bonfire. It was a little premature as, unfortunately, RDAs will still be with us until April 2012. I had hoped they were going to be abolished next year, as leaving them there until 2012 is rather like letting an animal die a slow death, but at least they are on the way out. Three cheers to that!

When the government then announced RDAs would be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), my heart sank. This sounded like another excuse to form many local quangos around the country. Unfortunately, this is still a possibility, and it all depends on who is your local council leader.

It was reported in the Hull Daily Mail yesterday, Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council are going to form a LEP, rather than have a body covering both banks of the Humber. After speaking to the leader of Hull City Council, Carl Minns, I am reassured to hear the proposed LEP will not have a set budget, will not have additional staff, will not have new offices (existing space will be utilised), and above all will be fully accountable to both councils. He reminded me, as if I didn’t need reminding,  there was no money for all of these ‘extras’, although it is good to have these assurances on the record.

This is the good news, but unfortunately not all council leaders believe in prudence and accountability. The following is from the official news feed of Leeds City Council, and you will see how the Leeds City Region LEP is going to take shape:

 

Leeds City Region Partnership brings together the 11 local authorities of Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield, York and North Yorkshire to work across administrative boundaries to promote economic growth and a better quality of life for our communities. With close to 3m people, a resident workforce of 1.3m, over 100,000 businesses and an economy worth over £50bn each year, Leeds City Region is the largest city region outside London.

 

Isn’t the point of LEPs in the title; local? Doesn’t this rather sound like an RDA with a different source for funding it? It does to me, and I have heard on the grapevine it will have its own staff and offices, and I would bet the shirt off my back that accountability to local businesses and residents will take a back seat to the bureaucracy this LEP will create. When it comes to attracting investment to the area, how will smaller council areas fare, compared to places like Leeds and Bradford? Those two councils will no doubt contribute larger amounts of cash than their smaller partners.

Two of the biggest criticisms I have heard about Yorkshire Forward is its bureaucracy and its failings in helping small businesses.  How is this going to change? It’s not, and that is the problem. At least with the proposed LEP in East Yorkshire, there is a chance of bringing inward investment benefitting Hull and surrounding areas, with the minimum of red tape. This is a model I had hoped other councils would take a lead from, rather than more grandiose schemes, which we thought were going to be a thing of the past.

Proposed Academies in Hull – Update

On Saturday 7 August, I had the following letter published in the Hull Daily Mail:

Dear Editor,

The news that Hull City Council intends to go ahead and attempt to build a new school academy in West Hull, defies all logic. Although Endeavour High School has been beset with problems almost from the start, its buildings are only a few years old and could easily accommodate a new academy. Instead, the council - through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme - is intent on getting its hands on millions of pounds of our money to build a new school when other services will be facing cuts.

Elsewhere in the city, despite huge public opposition, BSF intends to rob residents of the Princess Elizabeth Playing Fields by building the new Northern Academy. Other sites were available, but thanks to bureaucratic red tape and sheer belligerence, they have been bypassed. It does make you wonder when our elected representatives will listen to the people who elect them? We all want the best education possible for our children, but this does not necessarily mean we need new buildings. It is what goes on in the classroom that matters. Instead of throwing money at the problem, why don't we start getting the basics right? Angering the public and building schools that aren't needed is not the way forward.

A fresh campaign has already started in North Hull.  Residents are once again collecting signatures and writing letters in an attempt to get the council and the government to see sense, and build the academy in a better location. If you agree with them, please write to the press and voice your concerns. Outline planning permission has already been granted, but a strong campaign can still halt the building work.

The same goes for the building of the proposed new academy in West Hull. Write to the Hull Daily Mail or the Yorkshire Post, and voice your concerns. You can also write to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, and tell him what you think. If the government really does believe in listening to us, this is a good way to test the water.

The West Hull Academy can easily be housed in existing buildings. The Northern Academy can easily be built in places other than playing fields that are well used by local people. We can’t do it alone. Please help in the campaign.

Welfare Reform

This is the new video from the TPA, highlighting our new report on welfare reform. The full report can be found here.

I find it amazing that many who are on benefits will only be 26p an hour better off going out to work. Is it any wonder there are too many people claiming state benefits who should be in work?

Millions to be spent on another new academy in Hull

The education system in Hull has taken more than its fair share of knocks over the years. In all fairness to the teachers, Hull is a city where education is regarded as unimportant. Until parents realise their children’s future lies with a good education, very little will change. Today though one school is celebrating. St Mary’s School has received an outstanding OFSTED report and it is the first school in the city to ever receive such a commendation. Well done to the pupils and staff who have worked very hard to achieve this.

Unfortunately, elsewhere in the city our money is being wasted through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Seven years ago, a new school opened on Beverley Road, called Endeavour High School. It was an amalgamation of William Gee and Amy Johnson Schools. It was beset with problems as soon as it opened its doors. Hull City Council wants to close this school and build a new academy in the west of the city. The academy’s new home could be the Boulevard, the former home of Hull FC Rugby League Club. The council states Endeavour was built in the wrong location! So what? Why should taxpayers have to shell out millions of pounds, especially with the current cuts starting to bite, because Hull City Council wants to relocate after less than 10 years? The last government approved the relocation, and it looks like nothing is going to change. Once a site can be found, building work will take place. All of this is on top of the costs of acquiring land to build the new Northern Academy to replace Sir Henry Cooper School. Whilst none of us want our children to be educated in falling down schools, surely it is what goes on in the classroom that matters.

Schools in the area have been told there is no extra money available to them. So why is it Michael Gove thinks is it appropriate to spend money on a new academy, when the school it is replacing has buildings less than 10 years old?

This nonsense is complete waste of money and I hope the government has a rethink and decides to shelve this ridiculous plan.