The Turd in the Pool.

It seems that most Sandwell folk are not too fussed that, as Ofsted puts it in respect of the Labour Council Children's Services, "there are widespread and serious failures that create or leave children BEING harmed or at RISK of harm". There has been no real outcry about this from the people of the Borough who continue to perpetuate the Labour Dictatorship even though its record for Children's Services has been disastrous for years.

In their last, "inadequate", report Ofsted put the position succinctly: "Sandwell [Council] has a history of poor performance". This has been particularly the case under the joke "leadership" of Cllr Darren Cooper and thin-skinned "Chief Executive", Jan Britton. Of course, Labour tried (but failed) to have the report changed but succeeded in holding up its publication until after the May election. The "bests interests of the child" clearly do not apply with the Sandwell "socialists"!

Ofsted said:

"Strategic Leaders have failed to ensure that vulnerable children at risk are protected."

"The arrangements for the management of children who are missing and at risk of child sexual exploitation are poor. This has resulted in children for whom there is a KNOWN HIGH RISK of child sexual exploitation....not always being protected".

"The local authority and its partners do not fully understand the scale and prevalence of child sexual exploitation in Sandwell".

So what if some kids get sexually assaulted or raped? It doesn't seem to bother Sandwell folk who, in the last few days - judging by social media - have been far more interested in passing on grovelling thanks to the Council for spending THEIR money on a couple of bonfires. The vast majority of Sandwell folk can't be bothered to vote and those that do seem to not worry about the sort of incompetent and hopeless treatment of vulnerable children and others described by independent Ofsted.

Yes, and so what if  kids are criminally attacked and/or raped? Happily, they don't have a vote and so, despite the horrifically inadequate service, these unfortunate victims can be safely ignored by Labour. Indeed, Cooper and his comrades simply denied, initially, that the Ofsted report was even correct. The leadership [sic] claim all is well really and so they will ignore the flashing warning lights and, to really take the p*ss, CUT the Children's Services budget by £7 million!

The Lights Are On, But No One's In!

Even the main cheerleaders (with the BBC) of Darren Cooper, the Express and Star, seemed to be sceptical about this at first:

"More than £7m has been slashed from Sandwell Council's children's services budget - despite being judged as failing by Ofsted".

Even one (out of seventy one) of Labour's own spineless and venal flock of sheep seemed to make a stand, with The Star reporting Cllr Stephen Jones as saying:

"How can £7m be reduced and it works better? Ofsted are unfortunately saying something different. It's a bemusement to me".

(Message from Cooper: "Come into my office, Jones S. and bend over......")

Of course, this sort of apostasy is not permitted by those who have editorial control of The Star and within a fortnight the Wolverhampton c*ck-suckers had reverted to type. They reported [sic] Cooper as claiming that there had been great improvements in the two years before the Ofsted report (indeed, beforehand, he had clownishly boasted "we are ready for Ofsted" - "lol") and that SMBC had already planned another two year programme of improvements irrespective of the Ofsted inspection. Notwithstanding the risk of rape and assault of kids, Cooper held a peeled onion to his eyes and, in "X-Factor-style" meaningless gibberish, said the next two years would be a "continuation of the journey"!

(Incidentally, not only are the Express and Star grovelling openly to Cooper but they are also allowing either him and/or SMBC press office and/or Cooper's new "mentally-ill" social media spokesman to plant favourable SMBC comments to their  reports. "You Can't Trust The Star" are publishing letters/comments from the mysterious "A. Roberts" and "Jaswinder" - the latter being so obvious that local social media-users refer to "her" as "Dazwinder"!) 

Of course, Labour have been in control of "Sadwell" for 40 years under Labour, Conservative and Coalition governments but the laughable Cooper blames the hopeless state of the Borough on "Tory Austerity Cuts". But,despite losses from their own incompetence, the media are STILL totally ignoring Labour's obscene and ever-growing spending on sport!

Sandwell have many "friends" at the BBC so that programmes like Midlands Today (MT) are always willing to do Cooper's bidding (who can forget the coverage of The Public debacle by the likes of Sarah Falkland and the recent grovelling to the "leader" by Patrick Burns). And so when a report said the two worst places in the UK to live were Sandwell and Wolverhampton, MT helpfully did a puff piece showing Cooper strolling around the new Wednesbury swimming pool. The "journalist" allowed Cooper to rubbish the report and blame everything on, er, "austerity" without question or contradiction and ignoring a giant turd floating in the said pool - ie Sandwell Labour's huge BORROWING for the £8.1m leisure centre. That's money that dimwitted Cooper doesn't seem to realise the taxpayer actually has to pay back! Then there is the cost of running and maintaining the place. But hey, the licence payer doesn't pay for objectivity.

Sports-mad Cooper and his idiotic comrades have a plan for new multi-million pound leisure centres in each of Sadwell's six towns whether they are actually needed or not. And so they will be delivered even if this means cuts to children's and other frontline services. Indeed, Cooper likes to brag at openings not just about the particular facility but about new goodies to come which the likes of the BBC and the Wolverhampton c*ck-suckers immediately report in masturbatory prose. Thus, for example, when he opened Tesco in the dismal New Square, West Brom, he started boasting about the bent deal for an ice rink. And some say that at the Wednesbury opening he will be metaphorically w*nking about a new multi-million spending spree for a centre in Smethwick.

But the BBC etc won't actually ask ANY questions tomorrow. They will not mention that cuts of £7m are to be made affecting the most needy kids in the Borough whilst Labour are mortgaging the next generation of kids who will have to pay off the £8.1m borrowings. They will not ask why, despite cuts elsewhere, the last accounts of Sandwell Leisure Trust show SMBC's multi-million pound funding was actually increasing! Will these alleged "journalists" ask why SLT were very much out of favour with the Council not long ago so that they were stopped from running West Brom Leisure Centre but then were given Wednesbury (the answer was that Wednesbury was a "reward" for SLT not rocking the boat over the closure of The Public). 

Will "the press" be asking about the Sport Wednesbury scandal (now passed by the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police to a senior officer to review) particularly if Cllrs Ian Jones, Olwen Jones and Elaine Costigan are at the opening ceremony? Or Cllrs Paul Moore, Peter Hughes or Bob Lloyd?

(Here are just a few briefing notes to help them:

1   Ian Jones told the Trustees of Wednesbury Celebrates they did not have to pay rent for use of the Town Hall. They were later invoiced for huge sums with Cllrs Olwen Jones (relation) and Costigan objected to paying. This is ongoing;

2  Moore, Hughes and MP Adrian Bailey all supported the bent bid to Sport England which led to a £30,000 a year job for the partner/close personal friend of Richard Jones (relation) - son of Cllrs Ian and Olwen. Cllr Hughes has not said what he knew about this when he supported the bid on behalf of Wednesbury Rugby Club. Bailey MP is also saying nowt. No doubt the Police will be asking them in due course. Moore has written to The Skidder specifically saying he did NOT know that the job was going to Jones's partner but he has failed to reply to a further email asking WHO asked him to write a supporting letter.....

3  Wednesbury Celebrates (ie Olwen Jones and Costigan) told the BBC that Murray Hall Community Trust (Chair - Cllr Bob Lloyd) were responsible for the appointment but Lloyd's outfit (in receipt of huge sums from the NHS and the Labour Council) initially denied this to the BBC and have then refused to comment further to them or to me.

4  As shown in this blog, a pathetic application was made by Wednesbury Celebrates (Jones & Costigan) to SMBC and then granted - despite huge outstanding debts to the taxpayer - by, er, Olwen Jones and Costigan. So far, the "strongman" leader [sic] has apparently been as weak as p*ss and the two Councillors have failed to resign. Here is an email I sent to the ludicrous Cooper on 29th October, 2015 which remains unanswered:

"Dear Cllr Cooper,

I am sure that you are currently investigating the allegation that Cllrs Costigan and O. Jones approved a grant to Wednesbury Celebrates.

For the benefit of readers of The Skidder, can you please confirm the current position.

If the allegation is correct, what action are you taking against the Cllrs concerned."

No doubt the "press pack" will find out all the facts if this pair - and Cooper - turn up for the "grand" opening". But don't hold your breath!)

Perhaps the "ladies and gentlemen" of the press will ask why a rich private business called, er, "West Bromwich Albion Football Club" should fail to fund a charity that glorifies the Club itself whereas Cooper is throwing huge sums of our - taxpayers' - money at it? In the last accounts of The Albion Foundation the donation from the Club (who charge £49.99 for a sleeveless shirt) was ZERO ie precisely NOTHING!!!!!  I met a representative of the Foundation last week and she said the next accounts would only show Jeremy Peace and Co putting in a "very small donation and some discounted match tickets". The Foundation undoubtedly does good work but why the f*ck is a Labour Council diverting money from services it must provide by law (but is failing to do adequately) to bail out a Premier League Club's charity? Suffer little children....

No doubt the gumshoes who turn up to laud the new Leisure Centre will ask why Labour are now raiding the Public Health Fund to pay for yet more "sport", in particular, the new CAN - Community Activity Network? Of course, Sandwell must spend some money on sport which can have some health and other benefits but I attended the Sandwell Council of Voluntary Organisations Showcase last week and it was frightening how many of the excellent bodies there had to include "sport" in their programmes to get grants from the comrades (and there appeared to be significant duplication of effort).

So carry on turning a blind eye to Sandwell's treatment of vulnerable kids people and leave them at further risk while you all enjoy your heavily-subsidised swim'n'gym!

THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - COMMUNITY NEWS - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!

email:  thesandwellskidder@gmail.com          tweet:  @bcrover (Vernon Grant)

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