McVittie Takes The Biscuit!

Time for some more good news from Wednesbury! Just when you thought that even the masturbators who run Labour Sandwell Council cannot spend anymore dosh on top of the multi-million pounds they are already splurging on sport (millions of it BORROWED) here comes the latest from the loony "lefty" dictatorship! This time the crafty comrades have also managed to shaft the lottery fund via Sport England.

Let me just set the scene:

1   The Sandwell Labour dictatorship has been in power for 40 years despite an history of unparalleled failure. Unable (and probably ideologically unwilling) to encourage business, enterprise, jobs and prosperity to the Borough, Labour has at least become adept at waving the begging bowl to central government and then p*ssing the money up the wall on grandiose and highly expensive "projects". This worked whilst the Blair/Brown gravy train hurtled towards the buffers but the cash started to dry up during the coalition years and I somehow don't think George Osborne will be turning the tap back on anytime soon. But Labour has to keep spending somehow - particularly on sport where millions are poured in regardless of what else is happening in the rest of Sandwell eg a disastrous and unsafe Children's Services provision leaving the most vulnerable kids in the Borough "at risk".

2   The comrades spent a large amount of public money on renovating Wednesbury Town Hall and then spent thousands more on a report from their old friends, mega-expensive property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle, as to how to extract more income from the building. It's grim up North Sandwell but certain Labour Councillors decided that Labour needed to boost its tarnished image by setting up the Wednesbury equivalent of The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club and duly received cash from the Oldbury Politburo, use of publicly-owned facilities and also equipment looted from The Public. The result was a very secretive "community" organisation called "Wednesbury Celebrates" [sic].

3.  Apologies here but you may need to grab a coffee at this point and read my earlier blog:

http://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/keeping-up-with-joneses.html

MEANWHILE, (nearly) everything was still hunky dory for the Joneses in 2013. Unemployed Councillor Ian was in Labour's joke "cabinet" at SMBC. He had yet to go onto live BBC radio and tell a massive porky nor had he had to voluntarily suspend himself from the Labour Party to "clear his name" against unspecified allegations. His unemployed Councillor wife Olwen was seemingly recovering well from the agoraphobia which was part of her successful claim for £157,541 compensation against, er, Sandwell Labour Council! Unemployed Son Stephen was also a Councillor so that the family were raking in around £60k per annum of taxpayers' money in allowances. Ah, but then affairs of the heart came into play. Other son Richard had found himself a partner, Richard McVittie, who lived in Guildford and worked on sporty things there for the local Council as well as, at one time, being involved with an outfit called "Sport Guildford". Absence does not, of course, always make the heart grow fonder and so what was to be done.....???

[Addendum - it has since been established that Jones and McVittie were living together in Guildford before moving up to Wednesbury].

Now even the comrades couldn't really just fork out for even more money on Wednesbury sport - particularly as they were BORROWING a multi-million sum to build a new leisure centre in Wednesbury itself. So someone had the bright idea of getting the begging bowl out again.

Sport England dole out grants on behalf of the lottery but in 2013 Wednesbury Celebrates was a little p*ss-pot organisation with no history so that they were unlikely to achieve funding in their own right. The solution, of course, was an old Sandwell Labour con-trick  - "a partnership" (eg the bent Public deal).

I have asked Wednesbury Celebrates for a copy of their constitution and the accounts for the last three years but this "community" organisation has failed to even respond even though they are blowing public money. Whilst I have not seen the accounts I have received two slightly different versions of the Constitution from different sources.The 2013 version has four "trustees" two of which are Labour Councillors - Olwen Jones and Elaine Costigan. (Incidentally, this secretive cabal claimed to Sports England in 2013 that it was applying to convert to charitable status which would entail them making their accounts and some other documents public. Further, it would be more difficult for the trustees to run it as a private fiefdom away from prying eyes. It will come as no surprise to you that this has not been done as yet*). Olwen Jones and Costigan are still trustees and advertise their involvement and the involvement of Sandwell Labour incessantly on social media.

In the year ending 31/03/13, Sandell Labour were already supporting long established sports clubs in Wednesbury in addition to committing to the multi-million pound Darren Cooper w*nkfest that is the leisure centre. The rugby, water polo, boxing and cricket clubs (well-established and much favoured by Labour Councillors as well) scored £10,350 that financial year and I am sure there was other taxpayers' money going into sport there too. But Olwen Jones and Costigan decided that Wednesbury needed an "activator" to run a programme to get local lard-arses doing 30 minutes of "sport" a week (judging by the surging birth rate in those parts I think the local populace have probably got the idea anyway without assistance from Soviet High Command). Wednesbury needed a full-time salaried person to lead a programme of sporty events and, funnily enough, they knew a chap in Guildford who would fit the bill perfectly!!!

And so a bid put was put in to Sport England for a grant. For anoraks, the application is set out at the bottom of this blog save for the enclosure documents which Sport England have, so far, failed to disclose**. For the general reader, I will touch on a few highlights though you might want to take a quick peek just to see what a thorough and "professional" job was done on this. Three cheers you might say, for Olwen and Elaine - voluntarily burning the midnight oil night after night to produce this well-researched masterpiece! But hang on a minute - the detailed research and thorough application was done on behalf of the alleged "community association" at our, taxpayers' expense, by the "PE & Sport Strategy Manager" of, er, Sandwell Council and the bid was supported by their Director of Neighbourhoods (and Mahboob Hussain's old mucker) Adrian Scarrott. And so this is really a Sandwell Labour application!

Curiously the bid is very specific that it relates only to three SMBC electoral wards - Friar Park and Wednesbury North & South.

But there was still the question of money. As at 31st March, 2013 Wednesbury's Ab Fab couple had only generated income of £8,000 over the year - under £154 a week. Now Sport England will give 100% lottery money grants - particularly in areas of high deprivation - but this silly little outfit was not really likely to impress them. Whilst, not strictly necessary, Sport England usually like to see a financial contribution from the applicant. And so tinpot Wednesbury Celebrates put in a business plan for £227,200 over 3 years but only (!) requested £156,300 from Sport England. This left a shortfall of £70,920. But let's look at that a little further.

Well, I told you the comrades were good at "bids" and they firstly played the "health" angle with a consortium called "Health for Living"*** stumping up £15,000.

And then a mysterious body called "Sandwell Sports Council" agreed to put in £3,000. There appears to be nothing on Google about this bunch but there is a rumour (and I have been unable to verify this) that a former treasurer was someone called "Richard Jones" - if true, I assume "no relation". But there is one familiar name connected to them, step forward Labour Councillor Ian Jones, according to his own Register of Interests. How kind of SSC to make a grant that would help out the Jones extended family.

And Olwen Jones and Elaine Costigan somehow managed to persuade their fellow trustees that "community organisation" Wednesbury Celebrates should assist with a grant of £3,000 ie 37.5% of its annual takings at the time! This would have made a massive hole in their funds but there was a happy solution. In 18th March, 2013 Labour Sandwell made a grant to Olwen and Elaine's private "party" of not £3,000 but £5,000! Then another £5,000 on 24th September, 2014. Then they have paid a further £500 since so that easily covers the £3K "WC" so generously agreed to chip in!

So that was £21,000 in cash - some of it apparently via concealed payments from SMBC. But that still left a shortfall of £49,920. Here the smoke and mirrors stuff really starts to bamboozle Sports England. Wednesbury Celebrates are, of course, based in Wednesbury Town Hall - a building owned by the Council. It is claimed that they are paying rent to SMBC but I have a Freedom of information Act request in about that having received certain "information". Gallantly, however "WC" are offering "their" facilities to "Sport Wednesbury" for free at a paper value of £9,360. Wednesbury Water Polo (in which - here he is again - Cllr Ian Jones declares an interest and who received £2.5k from Labour in 2012/2013) would donate "their" pool at a value of £12,480 (!?)

Addendum 08/07/15 For those who did not fully understand the latter point Wednesbury Water Polo do not, of course, have "their" own pool. They used to use SMBC's pool at Wednesbury but whilst waiting for the new pool are using the Council-owned Tipton Baths operated by SMBC's sports arm, Sandwell Leisure Trust and so this is really another ruse to extract the Sport England grant. Note also that all contact with the club is via Cllr Ian Jones:

Address and e-mail for Cllr Jones

And then we come to Friar Park Millennium Centre - a registered charity whose accounts for November, 2014 make interesting reading. They are, incidentally, signed off by one of their trustees er, Labour Councillor for Friar Park and Cabinet Member, Simon "Two Homes" Hackett.

Friar Park are themselves also in receipt of lottery money via the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In Friar Park's last financial year (2014), Sandwell Labour also pumped in taxpayers' cash in the sum of £30,392**** and so you would have thought that they (and Cllr Hackett) would have been keen to ensure that the charity complied with its constitution and did its best to maximise its income. But this is not the case. Here is a note to the accounts:

"15 Commitments under operating leases 

The charity is based at the Friar Park Millennium Centre in Wednesbury. This building is owned by Sandwell MBC. Although no formal contract is in place, it has been agreed with the council that the charity may occupy the centre rent free, in return for its management. Additionally, the charity hires out the building to local groups, for which it is entitled to keep the income. From this income, the charity is required to pay for the business rates, utility bills and internal repairs of the building. The external upkeep of the building and ground maintenance remains the responsibility of Sandwell MBC."

Friar Park is entitled to keep rental income but generously decided to "donate" its own potential income from publicly-owned premises to Sport Wednesbury at a paper value of £9,360! According to the above it is also diddling the local taxpayer out of a small sum in business rates.

This still leaves a paper shortfall of £18,720 and I am sure you can guess who was covering this. Take a bow Labour Sandwell Council  who offered "premises" in all three wards to the fledging organisation. These are unspecified but in a time of austerity and "cuts" one would surely imagine that Labour would also be trying to maximise income and alleviate the burden of long-suffering taxpayers.

And it worked a treat! All the smoke and mirrors with grants and all the "paper" (ie not cash) "donations" suckered Sport England into agreeing to grant actual REAL MONEY of £152,800 over three years. Happily, Sport Wednesbury have budgeted a substantial sum of the incoming funds - just £35,000 per annum x 3 years = £105,000 - to pay the "activator". Re-enter the partner of Richard Jones (you know the family tree - Ian, Olwen, Stephen...Richard), Mr Richard McVittie. It is alleged by Sport England that they received a resume of the proposed "activator's" qualifications and he was deemed to be suitable although they admit that they had no idea whatsoever of the family/Labour connection.

Incidentally, during this period Labour have axed grants to the long-standing local sports clubs in Wednesbury. Something you would have thought that Sport England would normally not be very keen on!!!

Oh, and by the way - the bid provided that anyone else to be employed on the project, other than Richard Jones's partner of course, were to be employed on Labour's beloved zero-hours contracts! Socialism in action indeed!

The other problem with Sandwell Labour is that even when they are up to all this hidden stuff they can't resist boasting about it (and it worked a treat in May when, despite Ian Jones's bit of local "difficulty", the deliriously happy residents of these wards re-elected Olwen Jones and Elaine Costigan (on 28.3% and 29.9% of the vote). And so the "activator" (who still claims to live in Guildford on Facebook) was nominated for the Labour charade that is the "Wednesbury Community Awards 2015" and Mr McVittie breathlessly announced that he had been nominated for one award and had WON another!

Another outbreak of Turdy's Disease as name misspelt!

But hang on a minute! The cash award was made by Sport England on 3rd April, 2014 but it is not clear when the project actually started and actual money handed-over. Despite Sport England claiming that they are "closely monitoring the performance of the project" they admitted on 25th June, 2015 that Mr £35k per annum McVittie's organisation had "failed to submit the first six-monthly report". Four days later this rather worrying "advert" appeared:

Oh well, even if Sport England have been suckered into pumping even more money into Sandwell sports at least the "activator" was able to get yet more publicity for one local Labour Councillor. Surely £152,800 is cheap for that....

Where are the accounts for public money, Elaine?

THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - A COMMUNITY BLOG - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!

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* Charity Commission website search negative 04/07/15

** The Sport England Application (excluding enclosures which have not been supplied).

file:///home/saunders/Downloads/Wednesbury%20application%20form_Redacted.pdf

*** Made up of Murray Hall Community Trust, Black Country Housing, Accord and MIND Sandwell.

**** A large part of this sum was said to be for salaries including to one Harbans Singh Ubhi who duly expressed his gratitude to Labour (sorry, demonstrated his keen social conscience) by appearing in Tom "Ten Bellies" Watson's election leaflet with his wife as "a typical Sandwell Sikh family".