In The Public Domain?

Friday 4 October 2024

Dorset Council formally apologises to The Skidder

Following the initiation of a legal protocol process Dorset Council has issued an apology (set out below) to The Skidder via its external Solicitors.

Background

The story started when Dorset decided to replace a departing Director with an "interim" one. Applications were sought via the Council's "framework" but Chief Executive, Matt Prosser, claims to have received unsolicited applications via Solace in Business Limited, the trading arm of Solace, a membership organisation formed to promote the interests of local government figures. At the material time, Prosser was the President of Solace.

Prosser received the CV of the disgraced former Chief Executive of Sandwell MBC, Jan Britton, from Solace in Business although Prosser says that Britton is not a member of Solace. Despite the appalling misconduct of Britton over many years at Sandwell (see Note One and Skidders passim ad nauseum), Prosser agreed to pay the appalling Britton £900 per day plus a payment of £125 per day to Solace in Business for the interim job.

The pathetic groveller who claims to have seen nothing, heard nothing and certainly said nothing at corrupt Sandwell!

(Later, Prosser wrote that he was a Director of Solace in Business Limited (SIB) although he is not shown as such at Companies House. The Skidder duly wrote to the Company Secretary of SIB, Ruth Hyde, querying this anomaly but she has not bothered to respond. I will now take this matter up with Dorset again.)

You can see the history of Britton's appointment by Prosser and the hapless (and now out of power) local Tories via Note Two.

The Skidder wrote to a number of (then) Dorset Councillors from a selection of political parties asking why they thought spending £1,025 per day of taxpayers money on Britton - given his atrocious record, much of which is in the public domain - was good value. It quickly transpired that Dorset's Head of Legal, Jonathan Mair, had arranged to intercept Councillor's private emails without their knowledge (this was seemingly with Prosser's agreement and a later "independent report" by one of Mair's deputies said this appalling action was actually ok although, in future, it might be nice to ask the councillors' for permission to intercept their private emails first!)

Mair then sought to bully The Skidder. It's the same old, same old story for journalists covering misconduct in local government - bullying Councils ignore the facts and shoot the messenger. Mair threatened to use taxpayer's money to protect Britton's non-existent reputation and to take legal action if The Skidder attempted to contact any of Dorset's apparently pusillanimous Councillors about the appointment. Mair also told colleagues he was contacting the pathetic local mainstream media to warn them off the story! In fact, during the recent legal process, Dorset confirmed that they did not actually go on to nobble the local clickbait brigade (hence the wording of one of the paragraphs in the official apology). Interestingly, the feeble local mainstream media were alerted by The Skidder regarding Britton's appointment, but only the splendid, and independent, Dorset Eye covered the story.

Mair then wrote to the Councillors The Skidder had tried to contact making what The Skidder considered to me grossly defamatory remarks about him and his journalism. See Note Three below (from our associated blog).

Interestingly, one of the Councillors contacted was Nick Ireland. He was then the Lib Dem opposition Leader, but is now the Council Leader following the Tory rout locally. Ireland was apparently unconcerned (a) that his private emails had been intercepted, and (b) that his Council was paying £1,025 per day for the awful Britton. There is a curious "Lib Dem" aspect to all this. When Britton was kicked out of Sandwell (without compensation other than his statutory/contractual entitlement - almost unheard of for miscreant local government officers) a very aggressive Lib Dem Councillor in the Cotswolds called Joe Harris decided that someone as hopeless as Britton was just what was needed in that neck of the woods and gave him a job immediately! All very odd.

Incidentally, Ireland did not have the b*lls to tell The Skidder that Mair had written to him (and the others) in the manner in which he had, putting the poison down. But, incredibly, Dorset then put the incriminating documents on a public website for all to see! The Skidder started the protocol process to commence legal action.

For the record, Mair wrote to all the Councillors listed in the apology below (two of whom have since lost their seats) and - so it seems - not one of them had the guts or gumption to question what Mair and Prosser were up to, nor to contact me for verification of the facts. Clearly spending £1,025 per day on someone as dreadful as Britton is not, in their view, a matter of concern.

The Legals

Mair made it quite clear Dorset would use taxpayers' money to shut me up thinking that a small independent journalist would just rollover and comply. But, fortunately, I have the excellent Mark Lewis, Solicitor, and 5RB Chambers ready and willing to fight my corner. Thus Dorset's external and commendable lawyers quickly offered an apology. This is in the knowledge that I still intend to take regulatory action against a party involved in all this.

There is also a Freedom of Information request about Britton's appointment outstanding. Realistically, it should be Dorset Councillors asking the questions given Britton's long history of incompetence and misconduct and not me, but it seems they are incapable or unwilling to do so. Poor Dorset taxpayers!

There is also the ongoing question - which I am sure Prosser will wish to hasten to answer - about declarations he made in the Register of Interests in respect of his involvement with Solace before the appointment - in particular, his alleged directorship of SIB.

There is also some evidence that at least one of the Tory Councillors who gave Britton the job, Jill Haynes, (Chalk Valleys). knew of Britton's history of gross misconduct before the interview, but ignored the facts! That also remains an outstanding issue.

Here is the formal apology:

Prologue

Incredibly the story of Britton's misconduct at Sandwell is still ongoing. This blog published the still officially secret "Cox Review" into his appalling behaviour and so that was also available for Dorset Council to see before they appointed Britton at huge public expense (see Note Four). The Cox Review confirmed, amongst other things, what this blog had been saying for years - that Britton was hiding what he was doing by using an encrypted Blackberry device rather than his Council iPhone. There is a lot more that still remains hidden ...

And after, literally, YEARS the final costs of the Hackett case are about to be revealed. This followed on from Britton's very deliberate subversion of a Council standards review which also led to the bullying and dismissal of the Assistant Chief Executive at enormous cost to the taxpayer, and then a legal claim for damages from other parties which, of course, succeeded. Watch this space folks!

Note One: https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2023/12/desperate-dorset-council-employ-jan.html

Note Two: https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2024/02/four-tories-go-mad-in-dorset.html

Note Three: https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2024/08/dorset-council-foi-response-grossly.html

Note Four: https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2022/02/here-it-is-folks-cox-review-revealed.html

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Friday 27 September 2024

Shokat Lal on Davey and Oracle Fusion

One of the causes of Birmingham City Council's bankruptcy at the hands of Labour was/is a colossal overspend on an Oracle computer system. Having spent £100m it decided, four years later, to start again. A report described the fiasco as an unmitigated failure.

Bent Labour Sandwell has also decided to go with Oracle for its new system. Guess what? Yes, there have been problems and rumours from within (although not, so far as I am aware, from the rump of Tory Councillors) of a dramatic, er, overspend.

Insiders claim that Chief Executive, Shokat Lal, when not out partying with Labour current and former Councillors, sent a memo to staff saying that the implementation of the Oracle system had been delayed from July until October (and see further below).

Also, remember Alice Davey? She was the Council Director who so memorably humiliated chocolate p*sspot Liam Preece (Labour) in a public meeting when she was "Director of Borough Economy". Watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DX2ajk1qDk

You can also read more about this amazing episode via an earlier post:

https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2023/08/bumper-summer-skidder-double-holiday.html

Davey was also supposed to be the boss of the disastrous Matt Huggins (Skidders passim).

Shocked Sandwell insiders contacted The Skidder to say that Davey had not been kicked out in yet another rearrangement of the deckchairs on the Titanic but had been made the new Director of ICT and Transformation ("ICT" means Information and Communications Technology and "Transformation" means f*ck all). I duly wrote to Lal about these issues:

"THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION - PRESS ENQUIRY

THIS IS A PRESS ENQUIRY AND NOT A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

I am informed that Alice Davey has been appointed as Director of IT and Transformation on a six-figure salary plus LG pension:

Part One

1 Where was this post advertised?

2 How many applicants were there for the post?

3 Was there any external process in Ms Davey's appointment and, if so, what?

4 What IT qualifications does Ms Davey currently hold?

5 What experience does Ms Davey have of managing IT Services during her career to date?

Part Two

Oracle Fusion has been a major problem for SMBC as with Birmingham City Council (and is now part of Ms Davey's remit). I am informed, rightly or wrongly, that on 8th July you emailed all employees stating that the implementation of the new Oracle system has been delayed from July to October. Is that correct? Does this mean additional costs for the taxpayer?"

It took Lal a mere 35 days to respond to a legitimate press enquiry:

"In relation to your questions on the process undertaken for recruitment to the post of Service Director – ICT & Transformation, we would advise –

1. The post Service Director – ICT & Transformation was established as part of the phase one review of the Council’s Strategic Leadership Team. In accordance with due process for the conduct of leadership and service reviews, opportunity was in the first instance given to those individuals – in this case Directors impacted by the phase one review - and subject to redundancy to express interest in any vacant posts of a comparable level of seniority as a suitable alternative role. The post of Service Director – ICT & Transformation having been established was available for this purpose.

2. There was one applicant for this role, the application being made through the process set out in our response at (1) above.

3. As indicated in our response at (1) above, opportunity was in the first instance given to those Directors impacted by the phase one review of the Council’s Strategic Leadership Team and subject to redundancy to express interest in vacant posts of a comparable level of seniority as a suitable alternative role.

4. Recruitment to the post included the preparation of a detailed job description and person specification which set out essential and desirable levels of skill, professional knowledge, and experience commensurate with the role. A qualification in ICT is neither an essential or desirable part of the criteria for this post.

Following application and expression of interest, it was determined that the post of Service Director – ICT & Transformation was of a comparable level to that held by Ms Davey. In turn, following assessment of the extensive professional experience of leading and managing transformation projects held by Ms Davey, set against the significant senior service leadership experience deemed both essential and necessary to operate effectively in this role, it was appropriate to identify a match with this post.

5. Please refer to our response to question (4) above. Ms Davey possesses extensive professional experience of leading and managing services and transformation projects, along with significant senior service leadership experience necessary to operate effectively in this role.

Turning to those elements of your request which relate to the Council’s implementation programme for Oracle Fusion, we would advise that Oracle Fusion is complex Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERPS) for the whole of the Council and its partners. The Council has an established project team leading the development and delivery of this programme which involves staff from across the Council, it’s partners and from contracted workers.

The Senior Responsible Officer for the programme is the Executive Director of Finance and Transformation. The timescales for implementation are clearly dependent upon important technical and operational milestones being achieved, which is consistent with best practice in programme management. The Council updated the Audit and Risk Committee on progress on 18th July with External Auditors Grant Thornton in attendance.

The final costs and benefits of the system will be published as part of the project closedown. This will have to be completed post implementation when all the relevant milestones have been achieved and full costs are known."

Dealing with the Oracle debacle first it will be noted that Lal was not prepared to say whether he DID write an email saying that the implementation would be put back? Why not? What is he hiding? Has the implementaion been put back of not?

At least Oracle is NOT the responsibility of Davey but of the s.151 Officer, Alex Thompson, who joined Sadders in May. He goes by the title of Executive Director of Finance and, er, Transformation (that bullsh*t word again!) Alex appears to have a strong CV (which begs the question why he would work for bent Sandwell) although his LinkedIn profile makes no specific reference to any computer expertise.

As far as Davey herself is concerned and despite the techie-sounding job name you will note that in true Sadders-style there was only one appllcant for a job that was only advertised in-house. We have seen this sh*t before haven't we readers - notably with the disgraced former Chief Executive, David Stevens?

And although the job sounds techie Lal reassures us that an ICT qualification was "neither necessary nor desirable" for the ICT job! WTF???? Not even desirable? The clue is that the job was "on the same level" as Davey's redundant post. You will have smelt the bull*shit as you read the above.

A large part of the failure of Labour Sandwell Council has been incompetence and cronyism in addition to outright corruption. The amateurism of vast swathes of the staff has been astonishing. It looks like the Lal-era will continue the historic trend.

Oh, and did you notice that Lal dodged the question on the Oracle costs? He must know how much the contract was for and how much has been spent already. Fear not readers, a Freedom of Information request has been made as there is no possibility of the Tories ever getting the information. Let's just hope the mess isn't as bad as in Brum ...

LEGAL NOTICE (Version 4 from 8th October, 2023.)

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Every now and again we make a genuine error and get something wrong. If an error in the blog affects you please email thesandwellskidder@gmail.com and we shall

use our best endeavours to remove offending material and/or publish appropriate corrections forthwith (together with an apology, if applicable).

Friday 16 August 2024

Dorset Council FOI response "grossly defamatory"

Yet another extraordinary twist in the Jan Britton scandal. Regular readers will know that Dorset Council decided to employ the disgraced former Sandwell Chief Executive at Director level on a £900 a day interim contract (recent posts below* and Skidders passim).

In the course of The Skidder's investigations into this appointment two Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests flushed out a considerable amount of information. The Skidder, as ever, used the excellent What Do They Know (WDTK) website for the FOI requests which is, of course, a public website open for the whole world to see.

In the course of its responses Dorset also decided to grossly defame The Skidder. Rather than send evidence of grossly defamatory material direct to Skidder HQ it deliberately chose to make public the libel via WDTK.

On 30th July, 2024 The Skidder wrote a legal letter to Dorset demanding, inter alia, that it removes the defamatory material from the WDTK site. Not only has it ignored the letter completely, but it has also failed to remove the offending material.

The Skidder has had to contact WDTK directly today and they have kindly made Dorset's response "requester only" for the time being i.e. only The Skidder can now see it.

Addendum 22/08/24 - WDTK has kindly confirmed that, having reviewed this matter, they will NOT be reinstating Dorset's grossly defamatory content on the public site.

The matter is now in the hands on m'learned friends.

Prosser mystery

Those of you who read the second specific post on this scandal - set out below - will know that Dorset's Chief Executive, Matt Prosser, was, at all material times, the President of "Solace UK", a sort of medieval guild aiming to further the careers of "top"[sic] local government "workers". Solace has a commercial arm, Solace in Business Limited, to make dosh out of the jobs for the boys and girls network - mostly from the taxpayer.

Solace in Business was not on Dorset's "Framework" of recruitment firms when it sent Britton's CV to Prosser but, as we have seen in a previous post, he ensured that this would not hinder Britton's appointment in any way. And lo, so it came to pass and the Sandwell reject was appointed.

Not only did Prosser agree a £900 PER DAY payment to Britton but he also agreed a £135 PER DAY payment to Solace in Business Ltd. This was at the end of 2003. It is noteworthy that it is not just councillors but also employees - particularly senior ones - who are obliged to maintain a Register of Interests so that conflicts of, er, interest are avoided.

On 25th January, 2014 - a month or so after the appointment - Prosser wrote to the Monitoring Officer and to another senior employee stating:

"I am President of Solace the membership body - Solace in Business (SIB) is a separate arm that covers interim and development work, although I declare I am a Director of SIB for the period that I am President."

The fact that he was making his "declaration" to the senior law officer of the Council a month after the appointment suggests, at the least - that he had NOT done so prior to the appointment. Neither does he make clear in any of the documentation disclosed to date that he declared an interest when granting a Company of which he claims to be a Director payments of £135 per day.

But soft, what is this? Companies House records do NOT show Prosser as a Director of SIB! The Skidder duly wrote to the Company Secretary of SIB, one Ruth Hyde, asking if she could explain this anomaly. She has declined to reply.

There's the mystery - and it would be very convenient if it was found that Prosser wasn't a Director after all wouldn't it (even when he claims that he was)?

(Companies House says it will not comment on individual companies, but there is an enforcement issue here and The Skidder is following this up.)

* https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2023/12/desperate-dorset-council-employ-jan.html

* https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2024/02/four-tories-go-mad-in-dorset.html

LEGAL NOTICE (Version 4 from 8th October, 2023.)

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Wednesday 24 July 2024

The Dark Heart of the Black Country

THE LAST POST - AND IT'S BAD NEWS! (12/08/24)

The original post is below - followed by some updates.

Many of you will know that the management of Black Country Ales got their way and forced the removal of Malt and Hops from The Welly. A kindly staff member took them on, but this disgraceful episode should never have happened.

Messrs McMeeking, Manwaring and Walker ignored a petition with over 5,000 signatures and toughed the decision out in the face of the almost total opposition of customers.

Incidentally, one of BCA's biggest fans - before this outrage - states that Angus McMeeking suggested getting a cat in the first place to deal with mouse infestation!!!!

Farewell, Malt and Hops - you brought so much joy to so many. We shall remember you - and the heartless xxxxxxxx who threw you out.

LATEST NEWS AS AT SUNDAY 28th JULY #Catgate

Our visitor from Wales arrived yesterday and another friend from joined us. We boycotted The Welly in favour of The Colmore and the Post Office Vaults, and a jolly good time was had by all.

We picked up:

1 Further allegations (and they are only allegations) of further Black Country Ales (BCA or Be Cruel to Animals) bullying of legendary licensee, Nige Barker. Curiously, someone also wrote to The Skidder yesterday saying:

"Do some digging. The Welly has a unique deal with BCA and the only way to end it is to get rid of Nigel. The plan is to move a publican more in line with their ethics in there".

Perhaps Nige should be having a quiet word with m'learned friends?

Incidentally, BCA has been having a lot of problems hiring licensees lately. Is it any wonder if this affair is typical of top management's behaviour? Oh, and these geniuses also made a complete pig's ear of the recent replacement of the landlord at The Midland, Bearwood!

2 BCA is also said to have been bullying staff and threatening them with a "gross misconduct" charge if they post ANYTHING about #Catgate. And we learnt yesterday that an extremely popular staff member resigned on Friday in disgust at BCA's conduct. What a Company!

3 If one ignores the alleged sub-plot to defenestrate Nige, the real reason McMeeking, Manwaring and Walker is using for the eviction of the cats is said to be that BCA don't want the cats somehow messing-up the new carpets and furnishings. How different from 2017 as pointed out by "Singer of Songs" on X (Twitter):

Earlier #Catgate posts below ...

LATEST NEWS AS AT FRIDAY 26th JULY - INCLUDING BCA'S BIG LIE!

The golden rule when politicians and business folk are caught out is to lie, and that is precisely what Black Country Ales has done in #Catgate - their "top" [sic] management's decision to evict the pub cats from The Wellington Pub in Birmingham City Centre.

Yesterday, The Skidder was informed that Area Manager, Anthony Walker, had said that Malt and Hops are to be evicted since the management did not want them soiling the new carpets! As we shall see, this appears to be the real reason this (now) greedy pubco wants to put two fingers up to its staff and customers who are overwhelmingly hostile to the cruel eviction.

It gets worse. Firstly the three guilty men responsible for this obnoxious decision (pictured) have hidden from the media - including The Skidder - rather than having the b**** to try and defend the indefensible. This was a further email I sent to Black Country Ales yesterday which, again, received no reply:

L-R Angus MacMeeking, Anthony Walker, Graham Manwaring

Email - 25/07/24

"For the attention of Graham Manwaring and Anthony Walker

THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION - PRESS ENQUIRY

It is disappointing that the two of you are blanking media enquiries about your nasty decision to remove Malt and Hops from The Welly.

I was in two pubs (not BCA ones) in Brum last night and this outrage was a major topic of conversation. As one bloke said, "BCA has managed to unite the entire Brum pub community against it". BCA was also compared to Ryanair for its utter contempt for its customers.

Rumours abound and I want to give you another chance to "man-up" and start answering media and other enquiries.

Rumour 1 - that The Welly is to undergo a major refurb and you intend to make it more "corporate". Indeed it was said this goes for the whole BCA chain which is moving from a friendly outfit to a corporate behemoth. Is this the direction of travel? And can we expect Doom Bar at The Welly anytime soon?

Rumour 2 - notwithstanding the upset you have caused the staff at The Welly you have ordered them to stop posting pics of Malt and Hops on Instagram/Facebook.

It was also claimed that BCA does not actually own Malt and Hops. They are registered to an individual. If this is true have you contacted him for permission to re-home the unfortunate creatures?

Have you looked at the Google Reviews for The Welly? I am not just talking about the ones in the last few days which are unanimously hostile to BCA but going back in time. Some of us were looking last night. It is quite clear that Malt & Hops are extremely popular and feature most favourably in almost all the reviews. Why are you ignoring your customers?

It is not cowardly to reverse a bad decision. It is cowardly to stick with one."

Last night Black Country Ales top management finally put out a mealy-mouthed and disingenuous statement including a massive lie about the death of a cat:

FACT CHECK:

1 There is an long history of cats at The Welly. Before Malt and Hops there was the wonderful Welly. Cats did not "come in" with the virus;

2 One of three cats died with the implication that the environment is, somehow, dangerous. This is an outright lie by McMeeking, Manwaring and Walker. A person known to me and with Welly connections posted in reply:

"Also a f***** lie!!!!! The third cat lived at another pub for a bit, and then was re-homed when The Woodman closed. He is very much alive!

And:

"Absolute complete and utter b******! There was no dead third kitten."

Having just lost our beloved 18 1/2 year old cat I am even further outraged that the management could use a mythical DEAD cat to try to justify this insanity!

3 There is a smear that the cats are somehow a hygiene problem. As above the Google Reviews are overwhelmingly positive about their presence. Indeed some people visit the pub BECAUSE of the cats! The Welly does NOT serve food. It allows customers to bring their own. I have enjoyed pints of beer and sandwiches in The Welly for YEARS without harassment from cats. And whilst I don't support a dog ban either, Black Country Ales boast that at least 48 of their pubs are "dog-friendly". Try eating in a pub with a dog nearby and see what happens!. Also, anyone who knows you can take your own food into The Welly will already know that cats are present. I know of no-one who has avoided the pub because of the cats. This is just a pathetic comment intended to deceive.

4 The licensee of The Welly is the legendary Nige Barker - probably the man who has done more to keep real ale in Brum from the dark days of corporate keg than anyone else. And he is known well beyond our City for his championing of pubs and real ale. Whilst it is true to say that Nige is not, himself, a "cat-person", he has played host to Welly, and then Malt and Hops, for YEARS. The Management allege that he backs the decision. Sources close to The Welly claim that BCA management put the arm on him and, as one informant told me, "gave him no choice". What a Company to work for if management have to bully Nige and other staff to force through their crazed diktats.

5 Many people who live in flats keep cats permanently indoors. As a long-standing cat-owner, none of the Welly cats have ever appeared to be distressed, and the present incumbents are in magnificent condition.

When caught out with their big lie the management trio simply removed it from their Facebook "statement". They think their customers are stupid already, but did they really think no-one would notice?:

Now you see it, now you don't ...

But I am told that the battle to save Malt and Hops is lost. The macho management trio is doubling down on the decision, and the cats are going next week. They simply cannot get away with this!

Finally, in my original post I opined that the beer brewed by Black Country Ales is not great. One person posted on social media:

"If [Black Country Ales are] looking to give customers a better experience - keep the cats and ban Black Country Ales beers!

Oh, and we are hosting visitors to Brum tomorrow and our foursome were looking forward to a trip to The Welly. We are going to The Colmore instead. Why don't you join us?

THE ORIGINAL POST:

I have never taken LSD but imagine the effect is akin to walking into The Prince of Wales pub in Birmingham (the one behind the ICC). This Black Country Ales hostelry is decorated in the appalling "house style", but the intended effect is amplified here by the pub's small footprint. One is greeted upon entry with myriad psychedelic swirls of colour causing a bilious effect before one has touched the fine products on sale.

Prince of Wales, Cambridge Street, Brum

Alas, the style [sic] has been rolled-out across the burgeoning Black Country Ales estate, and you are likely to encounter it in the majority of their usually excellent pubs. Mostly the paisley psychedelia is matched with hideous nicotine-coloured faux "wooden" pannelling - the colour being reminiscent of pub ceilings of yore.

Black Country Ales, brewing in Gornal and now boasting an estate of over 50 pubs, is a great local success story. To my taste its brewed beers are inconsequential - Bathams or Holdens it ain't. But, apart from the decor, most of the pubs are great with a splendid choice of beers always available in addition to the own-brand stuff. These are real - usually wet-led - boozers. In Sandwell there is The Midland in Bearwood. which is coming back to top form after a change of landlord. Stu at The Three Horseshoes at Hill Top, West Brom is always welcoming and its well-worth a visit. For geographical reasons I seldom get to the superb Rising Sun in Tipton - a watering-hole favoured by Sandwell Tories although I expect they now hold their gatherings in a telephone box.

[A reader has correctly pointed out that BCA run two other pubs in the Sandwell poverty ghetto.]

Despite my comments above, The Prince of Wales in Brum is friendly and usually boasts a fine array of ales but, of course, BCA's jewel in the crown is The Welly - Birmingham's famous and best pub. This place - actually "The Wellington" - has been a major part of my life history - long before BCA took it over. It is not to everyone's taste. Visitors using the tradesman's entrance can be disconcerted by the infamous "Rat Alley". The pub also has an unpleasant odour which offends some sensitive souls. But what a classic! Captained by the legendary Nige Barker with a brilliant crew, this place is the real deal. BCA made an inspired decision to add a "roof terrace" - not quite one overlooking a Florentine Piazza as it only affords panoramic vistas of the aforementioned Rat Alley - but its much-loved. And believe me, you would be amazed at the number of weekenders arriving in our bankrupt City whom I have directed from New Street Station to Bennetts Hill. It is THE first port of call for any beer-drinkers in town.

BUT ...

The Welly has been blessed by lovely pub cats. The present incumbents - although not for long if BCA gets its way - are Malt and Hops. These characters bring great joy to the staff and customers alike, and have become minor social media celebs. The pub's advertising board says it all:

And visitors DO come in and ask where these lovelies are if they are not immediately visible (though they may be hiding under coats by the bar!) And here the beauties are:

Many folk around the WORLD have loved seeing Malt and Hops on social media, and one featured in probably one of the greatest pub cat photos of all time with super-staffer Matt:

Now the brewery management has inexplicably demanded their eviction. No-one who uses the pub can tell me the reason for the nasty and pitiless decision.

The mainstream media report that they cannot get any answer from BCA and neither can The Skidder. An email to the area manager on Monday received no reply:

"THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION - PRESS ENQUIRY

I have seen much on social media tonight that BCA are seeking to remove Malt and Hops - the Welly's favourite cats.

Can you please provide an immediate statement for Skidder readers why BCA are apparently taking this extraordinary course of action?"

If you are "managers" please at least have the guts to explain decisions!

In the meantime, a grassroots campaign has started to reverse the absurd decision:

PLEASE HELP US SAVE MALT & HOPS!

There is also a petition if you cannot contact Black Country Ales directly:

The link to the petition is here:

https://www.change.org/p/stop-malt-hops-getting-evicted?source_location=search

Black Country Ales was started by a really great guy called Angus McMeeking. He has built a magnificent chain, and has enormous wit and charm. Physically (so I understand), and metaphorically, he has b*lls. Angus has stepped down from day-to-day management of the wonderful business he has created. Angus - PLEASE - now is the time to step back in and stop this nonsense!

LEGAL NOTICE (Version 4 from 8th October, 2023.)

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Every now and again we make a genuine error and get something wrong. If an error in the blog affects you please email thesandwellskidder@gmail.com and we shall

use our best endeavours to remove offending material and/or publish appropriate corrections forthwith (together with an apology, if applicable).

Tuesday 23 July 2024

Sandwell Labour - IT's a mystery

One of the reasons Labour Birmingham City Council went into the local government version of bankruptcy was the disastrous implementation of an Oracle Fusion IT system. Bent Labour Sandwell Council is also trying to roll-out an Oracle Fusion set-up and, guess what, its not going according to plan ...

When the plot was formed by the corrupt Council to unlawfully fund McNally's crazed case against The Skidder the (then) highly-controversial legal supremo, Surjit Tour, not only used public money to unlawfully fund the disastrous case but also deliberately tried to smear me in the official court papers (known as "Pleadings") without putting his lies in a formal witness statement (an ongoing issue). As part of the smear, Tour and his fellow plotters stopped me contacting bent Sandwell other than through a "single point of contact", and then told the High Court that they had been "forced" to do this by my mythical "misconduct". Needless to say, this was not pursued on my application to strike out the absurd claim at the first opportunity, but did not become an issue again since the case fell at the very first hurdle. Because of the unlawful funding the taxpayer had to cough-up £100,000 due to its malicious behaviour. Nevertheless, bent Sandwell insists that the "single point of contact" system remains.

Sandwell has refused to let the publicly-funded and vastly over-staffed press office deal with my journalistic queries, but I am the only journalist in the whole world facing this discrimination. Now, and not for the first time, Chief Exec Shokat Lal, has decided to take the proverbial as will be seen below. Whilst he ensures other "press enquiries" - i.e from pet propagandists in the mainstream media - are dealt with in a timely manner you will see below how I am treated very differently.

I received information recently on what seems to be a strange top-level appointment even by bent Sandwell standards. Of course, I cannot simply write up unverified rumours and so I did the proper thing and asked SMBC to confirm or deny the facts. It may be that my information is entirely incorrect, but the point here is Lal's reaction.

Here are the actual emails. Please note that I am still unaware of the truth or otherwise of Ms Davey's alleged appointment, but she has not chosen to respond either. Accordingly, the information received is entirely UNPROVEN and should NOT be regarded as a statement of true facts. Of course, I shall keep Skidder readers informed as the story evolves.

Email to SMBC point of contact for the attention of Shokat Lal and copied to the Labour Leader of the Council, Kerrie Carmichael - 18th July, 2024

"Dear Mr Lal, Ms Carmichael,

THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION - PRESS ENQUIRY

THIS IS A PRESS ENQUIRY AND NOT A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

I am informed that Alice Davey has been appointed as Director of IT and Transformation on a six-figure salary plus LG pension:

Part One

1 Where was this post advertised?

2 How many applicants were there for the post?

3 Was there any external process in Ms Davey's appointment and, if so, what?

4 What IT qualifications does Ms Davey currently hold?

5 What experience does Ms Davey have of managing IT Services during her career to date?

Part Two

Oracle Fusion has been a major problem for SMBC as with Birmingham City Council (and is now ["seemingly" - Ed] part of Ms Davey's remit). I am informed, rightly or wrongly, that on 8th July you emailed all employees stating that the implementation of the new Oracle system has been delayed from July to October. Is that correct? Does this mean additional costs for the taxpayer?

Please respond by 10.00 am Monday 22nd July.

Julian Saunders"

Readers will note that Mr Lal would be in a position to answer Part Two immediately.

Sandwell response - 18th July, 2024 (my emphasis added):

Dear Mr Saunders

Thank you for your email below, which has now been forwarded to the relevant persons.

The Council will endeavour to respond to your enquiry within the next few weeks.

My Response - 19th July, 2024:

This was a press enquiry. I have a deadline for Monday!

Sandwell response - 19th July, 2024

Dear Mr Saunders,

Unfortunately, the council is not able to response [sic] within those timescales. A response will be provided at the earliest opportunity.

My Response - 20th July, 2024:

Noting that Mr Lal is apparently incapable of dealing with this press enquiry in a timely manner perhaps you can forward it direct to Ms Davey who should be in a position to answer Part One immediately.

FOR THE TIME BEING - IT REMAINS A MYSTERY!!!!

LEGAL NOTICE (Version 4 from 8th October, 2023.)

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Monday 22 July 2024

Sandwell divert £0.5m+ from public health to buy diesel buses

BREAKING NEWS - ADDENDUM - 12/08/24 Bent Sandwell are still hiding documentation concerning the use of Government funds to purchase the two DIESEL youth buses (see original blog post below) but has now admitted the fancy fit-out cost nearly £200,000 (ex vat). The precise figure was £98,152.13 plus vat for each bus (on top, of course, of the original half a million pound purchase price).

Also: for some bizarre reason, Facebook doesn't want you to read this post. See also:

https://crowmultimedia.blogspot.com/2024/08/journo-bemused-by-metafacebook.html

ORIGINAL POST

The "dismal science of Economics is all about the best use of scarce resources - getting more bang for one's buck. Alas, both UK governing parties of recent times take a wholly different approach to spending OUR money, and it is duly wasted as a result of crackpot ideology and/or naked self-interest. And the way both Labour and the Tories are indifferent to sound governance is truly appalling.

This post will also look at how "green" issues are rapidly ignored when money is to be had.

Image via Earth.Org

Political parties don't look for the best projects to fund. They simply fill up pots of our money and then throw it at schemes of dubious or no value. If the money isn't spent by an arbitrary date for the scheme to end it is blown regardless, rather than being re-collected for better use elsewhere. Just two examples will suffice. Labour had its horrendous PFI schemes including the absurdly wasteful "Building Schools for the Future" programme (which Sandwell Labour loved!) The Tories had the pathetic "Levelling-Up" agenda whereby "bids" were made for all sorts of absurd projects regardless of merit. As the Tories had the ultimately doomed hope of retaining Wednesbury (an excrement-smeared toilet in Sandwell) they - and Labour (!) wasted a small fortune on a town-centre heritage project and new market. Trying to polish a turd is seldom successful, and this proved to be the case again in that dismal hellhole.

If you are a UK taxpayer - read on and weep ...

On the buses - Sandwell-style - the initial con

The Labour dictatorship at Sandwell Council is one of the most corrupt in the Country and has recently spent two years in Government "special measures" - at horrific cost to the taxpayer - due to "serious governance issues". Many of the Labour councillors despise capitalism, business and entrepreneurship, save where they are direct beneficiaries. Many have not worked or have only done so sucking in the taxpayer's nipple via the "third sector". In short, they couldn't run a whelk stall, but they have become skilful at extracting public funding to keep their rotten hull just above the waterline.

The crooked comrades ran an absolutely disastrous Children's Service which the Government had to transfer into a new Children's Trust. The disgraced former Chief Executive, Jan Britton, squarely blamed social workers for the failure his pathetic service.

The Youth Service spent money on operation two double-decker buses in the Borough. I will leave it to experts whether the expenditure is a sound use of public resources but the comrades claimed that it was. Youth workers ran a counselling service on the buses for a short time on four evenings a week. Two drivers were employed for 18.5 hours each costing the taxpayer £63,100 per annum plus maintenance, repair and compliance costs of at least £10,000 per annum. Of course, the wages of Council-employed youth workers were additional although they would presumably have operated from some other space if not on the buses.

Although Sandwell is a dirt-poor sh*thole, Labour likes to boast of his financial rectitude despite numerous examples to the contrary in Value for Money Reports prepared by its auditors, Grant Thornton. A problem for this youth service arose in that one of the buses was 23 years-old and the other 16. As the bent Council stated in writing: "The current budget for Youth Services would not allow for the purchase of new double-decker buses." But every fatal cloud has a silver-lining and Labour saw the funding being doled-out by the Tory Government to defeat Covid as an opportunity to redirect public health money to a favoured capital project.

One of the few good things about living in Labour Sandwell is that, statistically, residents will escape the Borough by dying earlier than their peers elsewhere. Sadly, public health is so bad there that folks will endure more years of pain and disability than elsewhere - after 50 years of Labour neglect, cronyism, incompetence and corruption.

Before Covid struck, Labour disastrously appointed Lisa McNally as its new Director of Public Health (DPH) - who has now left the Council. [McNally, earning over £100,000 a year plus pension, later tried to enrich herself by suing me in the High Court. The Labour Council unlawfully used taxpayers' money to pay her legal costs, wasting over £100,000 of public funds. Her hopeless and malicious claim was struck out at the first opportunity - Skidders passim ad nauseum.]

When Covid struck Sandwell was in sh*t-creek as its sick population was intensely vulnerable to the virus. McNally attacked Tory Government schemes and experts to the delight of Labour cheerleaders, and became a local media "celebrity". She appeared to some to be building a "personal cult" around herself and, fair play, public health issues did rise a little up the local political agenda although the dial does not appear to have been shifted in respect of the longer-term.

Meanwhile the wicked Tory Government set up the "Contain (Covid) Outbreak Management Fund" or "COMF" and showered zillions on local Councils. This was intended for contact-tracing, targeted interventions, help for those self-isolating and so on. In other words, revenue spending to help combat the pandemic - particularly in areas of Multiple Deprivation like Labour Sadders. The Director of Public Health was to have a large role in determining where these funds should be directed to alleviate the misery of the pandemic.

As the virus began to loosen its deadly grip Sandwell found itself still awash with extra dosh and literally asked around other Council departments how they could blow this unexpected largesse. For their part, the hapless Tories didn't ask for the unexpended money back unless it was unspent by a deadline date (the COMF cut-off). They loosened the rules so that COMF money could be spent on wider "public health" issues in the wake of the pandemic. Even though the Youth Service has been operating for years and is not funded from the bent Council's public health budget the crooked comrades decided to grab the money for the capital expenditure it otherwise couldn't afford. And we are talking over half a million quid here which they decided to divert from specific public health issues - of which there are a myriad in Sadders - and blow it on something else where public health benefits were tangential at best.

At least the locals can take pride in watching the buses drive around for 18.5 hours a week whilst dying prematurely. Their ongoing poor health is a small price to pay for this marvellous scam.

For over a year now I have been trying to get at the facts of this wheeze and following the intervention of the Information Commissioner bent Sandwell has finally coughed-up (no pun intended) some of the documents - although they are still incomplete and the matter is ongoing. In particular, the name of McNally hardly appears in any of the documents produced so far even though she was supposed to play the greater part in deciding where the COMF money should go. Even Sandwell admits that McNally and the Finance Officer provided "guidance" that the money could be used for the capital project rather than urgently necessary public health spending. Indeed the COMF rules specifically stated that the DPH must sign off on COMF expenditure.

Suffice to say that Labour were struggling to justify how spending over half a million quid on new buses somehow constituted "Public Health" expenditure. Almost any expenditure "may" have a distant public health benefit. If Sandwell Labour scraped the mountains of canine excrement off the streets of its ghastly six towns folk "might" walk about more and this "might" improve their health. But in a "Key Issues" document about the buses there is no mention of any specific public health benefit. In another formal document this wishy-washy tripe was the best that the paid service could dream up:

Of course, this blog has always shown that the bent Council benefits from "partnerships" with the likes of corrupt West Midlands Police and funds various charities and organisations which then produce propaganda praising the comrades which would make Josef Goebbels blush - like arts organisation (!) Multistory. And so officers cobbled this together to support diverting COMF money to the bus fund:

But the only "outcomes" that were achieved by this were:

A reduction on anti-social behavior at Lion Farm (where Labour are seeking to destroy 19 ha of green space in a bent deal to build a shopping centre) although to be fair, a partner organisation did speak to your miscreants about drug use. This might be described as public health advice but was not delivered by the Council and it is unclear why such advice had to be delivered from a bus;
Young tearaways had encountered some arts organisations. Again - why these taxpayer-funded organisations could only do this from a bus is unclear and any public health benefit of this is opaque;
A small portable stage gave youngsters a showcase for their talent.

It seems that even the comrades were struggling to pull this con off but one employee named xxxxxx, acting with others, came up with the most incredible solution. The COMF rules would be read literally. This is one of the most astonishing documents I have ever seen from a Sandwell employee. It is breathtakingly wrong or else a deliberate attempt to bend the rules on behalf of Labour councillors:

Was McNally the person he met with? The final paragraph would be hilarious if this wasn't so serious.

Sandwell ran a massive communications exercise during Covid on top of the enormous national one, and smothered the area with posters regarding the virus and then the vaccination scheme. To say that the use of funds to fight Covid could only be used via peripatetic means is truly astonishing. The COMF rules were not intended to pay for over half a million quid's worth of kit the Council couldn't otherwise afford on behalf of a different department. The above is the crux of the con since this tripe was then used to justify the fiddle right up to the top of the Council.

Just to put the icing on the cake the comrades pulled another of their favourite ruses by saying what the buses COULD be used for in the future. Not much, presumably, if they had to each provide youth services with drivers only employed for 18.5 hours a week! And who monitors whether the promises are kept?

As the Council has not produced all the relevant documentation - after very nearly ONE YEAR - it is not possible to see how far the top brass is implicated but, interestingly, the name of Kim Bromley-Derry crops up in heavily redacted documents. I have asked the Information Commissioner to ask for the disclosure of his involvement since it is not clear whether he was involved as Interim Chief Executive. or in his later role as the Government's Commissioner. In the meantime, the cover-up and gross delay by bent Sandwell cannot possibly have anything to do with the fact that the latest tranche of documents also show that current Chief Executive, Shokat Lal, was also involved in the latter stages of scam.

Incidentally, Cllr Dave "Greedy Scrote" Wilkes initially asked me to investigate this con which he considered a matter of intense public interest. That was when he was a Tory councillor. Since the traitor defected to Labour he has been silent on this issue but will, no doubt, now be seeking all the facts and publishing them on his much-used X (formerly Twitter) account!

Green B*llocks

Labour and the Tories (if they still exist) pretend to be "green". In the urban dystopia that is Sandwell the Dictatorship's claims are particularly mischievous. Labour destroyed Londonderry Fields for the Commonwealth Games paddling pool. It is destroying a substantial part of the the old Brandhall Golf Course. For some 12 years it has been trying to pull off a bent deal to destroy Lion Farm Fields for a shopping centre - and still is.

The two old buses in use had been specifically kitted-out for youth services rather than with seating as in "normal" public transport buses. In one document officers stated in writing: "it is not possible to buy a converted bus which met our specification". I am no expert but from suggestions elsewhere in the disclosed documents there is some doubt about this, and it certainly appears that this is another lie. This was an attempt to conceal that the buses had to be bought by a certain date otherwise Sandwell Labour couldn't steal the COMF money!

This has been made explicit in the documentation now seen by The Skidder - and it gets worse. Laughably, a chain of Council emails concerning this scam is - and I sh*t ye not - plastered with this logo:

Whilst councillors and officers were plotting together one unnamed Councillor suggested buying electric buses, but these were said to be too expensive AND they would have been unavailable before the COMF cut-off date as documented in this sentence:

"this would have meant that the funding could not have been spent within the required timescale".

For the same reason bent Labour could not go through a "full procurement exercise" since that could not be completed before the COMF cut-off. Did even the grossly incompetent Tory Government imagine COMF money was to be used for major procurements AND not proper public ones at that?

Instead of an open public process bent Labour approached a private (for profit) limited Company in Cambridge, The Procurement Partnership Limited, to do the biz. In order to get the money in time it was decided to buy two buses in stock from Alexander Dennis at £515,990 plus VAT. Sandwell would then have to pay to convert the buses. The catch was that these "green" buses allegedly bought to promote public health were to be, er, DIESEL! WTF?

It seems even within bent Sandwell some were a bit restless about this but it was made clear - Labour have to have diesels or can't screw the Government in time. It was duly spun by Labour that because the old buses were knackered this was, in fact, a "green" move. The new diesel buses would comply with Euro 6 emissions standards and so be much healthier for sick Sandwell than the old nails. These people really are ****s aren't they?

How sick that money can just be recklessly spent by a Council like this and without any interest or questioning about this from the Government even when over half a million pounds is involved!

Needless to say there has also not been a whisper about any of this from the ever-diminishing band of Sandwell Conservatives.

The fag end of Toryism

Shokat Lal has been keeping all the above quiet for nearly a year claiming, amongst other things, simply that the COMF rules allowed this major procurement without saying why or how this decision was made. As above, he is still concealing much - including the role of McNally in all this - despite the fact that the COMF rules specifically made her responsible for signing-off the expenditure. I will keep you posted on this but in the meantime I approached the Tory Government about this and my (then) MP - Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove).

Initially I mistakenly wrote to HM Treasury but was referred to the Department for Health. I can do little better than show the sorry chain of emails which amply shows why the Tories needed to be kicked out.

To the Department of Health Press Office - 27th October, 2023

"Good morning,

I originally sent this to HM Treasury but they have referred me to yourselves.

I am a journalist writing about the governance of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC). My query concerns large capital expenditure by SMBC using the Contain (Covid) Outbreak Management Fund (COMF).

My understanding is that COMF was, as the name suggests, set up to battle Covid via track and trace etc. As the main threat of the pandemic receded I further understand that guidelines were issued to local authorities permitting them to use residual funds for wider public health plans.

For some time SMBC owned and operated two “youth” buses. These were aged and SMBC decided to use over half a million pounds from COMF to purchase two replacements (such was the rush to use the money before a deadline date that they bought two buses “off the peg” and are now incurring substantial conversion costs - but that’s not the issue I am concerned with here).

Was it HM Treasury’s intention that COMF funds could be used by local authorities for large capital expenditure items in this way? If so, can you please point me to the Treasury guidance permitting this please?"

In the absence of a reply I wrote again to a named employee within the Press Office.

Still no response and so I sent it again, but this time to one Andy Brittain, the Department's Director of Finance, on 11th December, 2023 which I also copied to Sajid Javid MP (receipt was acknowledged)

On 13th February 2024 I chased the Department again with another copy to Javid.

On 16th May, 2024 I wrote to Javid again under the heading, "Long Outstanding Matter":

"I appreciate that you are leaving Parliament but you are currently still on the taxpayers' payroll.

I wrote to you as long ago as 13th February, 2024 about a long-outstanding question I had sent to the DHSC. I am still awaiting a response and I cannot even see that I have had an acknowledgement from you.

Here is the email I sent to the DHSC and to YOU. Can you please help me get a response?

Here is the email AGAIN: (Original attached.)"

In this country of grovellers I received an acknowledgement on behalf of "Sir Sajid". [Pass the sick bag, Alice.]

On 19th June, 2024 the Department finally responded to Javid copying me in and effectively telling me to f*** off. Only the last paragraph of the letter is relevant here:

"Now that Parliament has been dissolved before the general election, the Department cannot comment further on this matter. What happens on this issue in the future will be a matter for the incoming Government."

As above, I am still trying to get to the truth via the Information Commissioner and will take the issue on to a Tribunal if Lal continues to conceal the relevant documentation. I am also writing to the new MP for Bromsgrove, Bradley Thomas, asking him to finally get some sense out of the Department although noting that Labour are now also an elected Dictatorship nationally I don't expect them finding any issue with Sandwell's shocking conduct here.

[If you wonder why it takes me so long after the event to produce stories the above will give you an idea why ...]

LEGAL NOTICE (Version 4 from 8th October, 2023.)

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.