Why I couldn't vote to approve the Council Annual Plan Report

My speech at the West Lancashire Borough Council meeting 20th July 2022.  The vote at the end of the debate supported my position and the Council Plan Annual Report was not approved.  In my recollection a Council Plan Annual Report has never been rejected previously.  

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The Annual Report contains a positive record of the steps taken by the council over the past 12 months.  It reflects the hard work and efforts of the council’s staff and I want to thank them for that.  There are numerous achievements in the report about which they can be justifiably proud.

However, this year I cannot support the recommendations to approve this report, as I'll explain.

The current report is heavy on commentary but lacks measures of success in some areas.  Giving one example, it states that a series of mobile CCTV cameras for tackling fly-tipping and environmental crime were deployed but provides no measure of their impact.  Our West Lancashire have been asking for information on this for months with no substantive reply.

The format of the report is backward looking.  It gives the perception of being written after the event with positive successes included.  Sometimes repeated from previous year’s reports.  There will be a new Council Plan being formulated this year to commence from next April and it needs to be forward-looking, setting SMART objectives with the Annual report on the progress of the plan reporting against those objectives.

It is highly selective in its reporting not always acknowledging the challenges faced and the actions taken to remedy them.  No one reading the report where it says: “Development of our Local Plan 2023-2040 progressed with 291 respondents to the Issues and Options consultation that will inform the next stage of the Plan. A revised Local Development Scheme was approved in March.” Would know that the revised Local Development Scheme approved, had to extend the timetable for the adoption of the new Local Plan by 8 months because of the departure of the majority of the Planning Policy team with a deliberate decision to delay replacement of staff in some posts.  There is more that could be said on this in a confidential forum, but the Report before us does not even mention the delay. 

Another example would be in the finance section where there is no mention at all of the fact that the Council Accounts for the year ended in March 2021 – 16 months ago have still not been externally audited and where the external auditors are highly critical of the council’s performance saying they did not receive the council’s financial statements until November, and then due to long delays in council officers answering questions the external auditors had to pause the audit in March this year.  They had hoped to resume the audit by now, but our finance officers are still working on outstanding areas.

Our internal audit identified that no assurance could be given in relation to the financial controls relating to the procurement of refurbishment works here at Derby Street and at Robert Hodge Centre – this on a spend close to £1million.  Yet it is not even mentioned in the annual report.  Instead, we have a quote from James Pierce [the Council's Chief Finance Officer] on Page 18 of the report worthy of Dr Pangloss.  It is a pity Mr Pierce is not present tonight to justify his optimism.

Again, just this morning, I learned that the Local Government Ombudsman found maladministration by the council relating to two incidents last year.

I’ve been a councillor for 23 years.  Never in that time have I had council staff approach me on a confidential basis – whistle blowers if you will, until this year.  This year it happened twice.  I advised use of the formal whistleblowing policy in both instances.  I don’t minimise the enormous step it is for a council employee to contact a councillor about internal matters and so to say I was taken aback by this course of events is a large understatement.  It’s clear to me that staff morale is not what it should be and we all need to work to address that.  Indeed, staff turnover was very high last year and I know of more than one staff member who didn’t leave for better terms and conditions. 

An Annual Council Plan Report needs to be more than a PR document.  It needs to honestly reflect the challenges the council has and the corrective steps to be taken.  I am afraid this report does not do that.