Pravda Publications or vital sources of public information?

In 2005 the Local Government Association (LGA) launched its “Reputation” campaign with a 12 point plan for local authorities to improve their public image and increase the value residents placed on local authority services. One of the key recommendations was that councils should publish a regular council magazine or newspaper.

The reputation plan even identified a council produced magazine as “the most cost effective form of communication for getting a council’s key messages across, giving statutory information, gathering feedback, setting the record straight and counteracting rumour.” (LGA, 2005).

Eleven of the north east of England’s local authorities signed up to the campaign immediately and began to produce magazines of varying standards of professionalism and with varying cost (Association of North East Councils, 2006). By 2009 nearly every local authority in the country was producing such a magazine (LGA, 2009).

The emergence of council run publications has had a serious effect on local newspapers and a House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee highlighted four principle arguments against council publications (HOC, 2009). There was insufficient distinction between local authority publications and independent newspapers; the council publications diverted advertising spend away from the traditional press; the inclusion of public notices in council publications rather than the traditional press; and the content of council publications was not sufficiently objective or independent (including allegations of "council propaganda").

The argument that there is insufficient distinction between local authority publications and newspapers is difficult to sustain in the case of the Hartlepool council Hartbeat magazine as Hartlepool is served by three daily newspapers, two are evening publications, the Hartlepool Mail (Publisher Johnson Press) and the Gazette (Publisher, Trinity Mirror) and one, the Northern Echo (Publisher, Newsquest) is a morning newspaper. There are also free papers such as the Hartlepool and Peterlee Star which is published weekly. All are published in newspaper format. The Hartbeat magazine is published only four times a year and is in A4 magazine Format.

However, the front cover of Hartbeat does not specifically say the magazine is designed, printed and distributed by Hartlepool council. In very small text it does give the website address but it is not very prominent. Anyone not familiar with the publication might be confused about its provenance.

The criticism referring to the inclusion of statutory or public notices is also not totally sustained by the Spring 2010 Issue. Page 48 does give information about ward councillor’s surgeries, although details are published for only eight out of seventeen wards in the town. The criticism of the Commons Select Committee however seemed to be mainly concerned with statutory notices and there were no examples of these in the Spring 2010 Issue.

Many other local authorities are now looking at in-house publication and the use of local newspapers, for statutory notices. Hampshire council chiefs recently identified that by moving only to on-line publication, via the council’s website, they could save a considerable fraction of the £1.5m annual costs they incur by advertising everything in local newspapers or in council publications (Southern Daily Echo, 2010).

The criticisms made by the Select Committee of diversion of advertising revenue and in particular the lack of objectivity, can both be clearly be seen in the Spring Issue of Hartbeat.

Hartbeat is an unremitting diet of good news about Hartlepool council and its “partners”

The use of unsupported statements is illustrated on pages 20 and 21 where a double page header says “Yes, we use our local library for all sorts of things….” This is a blatant political statement and is related to the on-going debate over public library provision in the town. There is no evidence provided for library use in the town.

On page 6 the magazine trumpets the achievements of the council in imposing the lowest ever council tax rise. However, it fails to mention that figures release by the Department for Local Government and Communities show Hartlepool borough council charge the third highest council tax in England. Hartbeat Magazine is correct in saying it is the lowest tax increase ever, but neglects to mention that at 2.5% it is still above the national average increase of only 1.8%

Page 6 also contains a “Thumbs up for new power station” This is based on the council’s own polling data using their Viewpoint Citizen's Panel. This was set up in 1999 and consists of around 1,200 residents who are claimed to be a representative cross section of the Hartlepool community. The headline “Local people have given an overwhelming ‘thumbs up’ to a new power station being built in Hartlepool” is therefore based on a private poll about which no details of the actual membership of the panel are available and which do not comply with any of the standards set by the British Polling Council or the Market Research Society Code of Conduct.

According to the LGA Survey of local council newsletters the average cost in 2009 of publication and distribution for a unitary authority magazine, such as Hartbeat was £82,000. Page 3 of the Hartbeat magazine make the statement “Hartbeat aims to be a self funding publication”. In response to an enquiry about the funding of Hartbeat magazine the Hartlepool council PR Department supplied the information that Hartbeat has a design, printing and distribution budget of just under £1,800 per issue. The PR Department also claimed that in 2009/10 the magazine did not use this budget and actually produced an overall surplus of almost £2,000. It was also noted that Hartbeat was printed by an out of town firm. A great example of Hartlepool Council failing to support local companies.

An enquiry to the advertising agency handling Hartbeat gave prices for a full page advertisement as £500 (plus VAT); a quarter page was £200 (plus VAT). These were provided verbally as the Agency does not have a published rate card for Hartbeat magazine. The Agency is based in Northallerton and also handles the advertising for the Darlington Town Crier (Darlington Borough Council, 2010).

The Spring 2010 issue of Hartbeat is a 64 page magazine and contains 10 pages of clearly identifiable external advertising, (such as Pages 2, 7 and 17), plus 3 pages of what could be counted as advertising but is internal council generated (such as the Maritime Experience Advert on Page 10. The Maritime experience is council owned and operated). There are other pages that could be advertising, pages 9 and 40 refer to NHS Services in the town but it is unclear wether or not these are paid for advertisements. Similarly the full page from the Cleveland Police Authority (Page 35) could be a paid for advertisement.

Assuming the NHS, Police Authority and Colleges all pay for their advertisements then a total of 19 pages are paid for copy, giving an income of £9,500. This would hardly be a significant sum to Trinity Mirror Group, Newsquest or Johnston Press however; if the same scenario is being repeated across the whole of the UK then significant sums will become involved.

Public Sector accounting practices do make isolating costs very difficult. Page 18 of Hartbeat gives information about the “Milestone year” for Housing Hartlepool. Housing Hartlepool is the major social housing provider in the town. It was set up as a stand alone organisation in 2004 by members of the council’s own housing department to take over the council’s housing stock in the town. It is not clear from the context in Hartbeat if this is editorial or paid advertising.

According to Alex Aiken, Head of communications at Westminster City council. 'Councils should be reviewing very seriously what they produce. Councils claim that it is made viable by its advertising but most of that is council advertising so you are just transferring money between departments..' (Quoted in Harrison.C, 2010)

The House Of Commons Select Committee did identify some good examples of council publications. Stevenage borough council's Chronicle and Portsmouth city council's Flagship were singled out as good examples of council produced publications. Like Heartbeat, both of these are magazine format and distributed on a quarterly basis.

Unlike Hartbeat however they both clearly state they are published by the local authority. Also unlike Heartbeat they carry no classified advertising and are produced only for the purpose of providing public information on local authority services.

The select committee report also criticised council magazines that contain comments only from elected members who were cabinet members. In Hartbeat the only councillors mentioned are the Mayor, Stuart Drummond, The cabinet member for performance, Robbie Payne and the cabinet member for Children’s services, Cath Hill. There are no backbench or opposition councillors mentioned anywhere in the publication.

In this respect Hartbeat does not reach the extremes of some other council publications. One issue, selected at random, of Tower Hamlets’ publication, East End Life, included only references to the council's ruling Labour cabinet. The issue of 16-22 March 2009, mentioned them by name 27 times, including six mentions of the same councillor, and carries 12 pictures of them. (Gilligan.A, 2009)

Hartbeat magazine is undoubtedly a propaganda tool for Hartlepool council giving a positive spin on the council’s performance while presenting information on their services. It is unclear how Hartbeat magazine can claim to comply with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) guidance to local authority newspapers and magazines. This guidance clearly says that “any publicity describing the council's policies and aims should be as objective as possible, concentrating on facts or explanation or both.”

Council run publications are now being challenged in many areas. The financial considerations increasingly being superseded by the potential loss of local media and the resultant decline in the scrutiny they traditionally bring to bear on local government.

According to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, “Council produced newspapers are a ludicrous waste of money and a very real threat to the democratic process, which is why I instantly scrapped Ken Livingstone's self-serving propaganda sheet The Londoner saving £2.9 million of council tax payers' money a year to be spent on, amongst other things, 10,000 trees.” (Croydon Guardian, 2010).

Writing in the London Standard, Roy Greenslade describes council run publications as; “no more than ‘Pravda publications’. Even if they do not specifically push council policy - and most do -they certainly do not criticise that policy. They may act as a (heavily censored) forum for critics, but they do not campaign against decisions. Nor, of course, do they investigate councillors or council officers.” (Greenslade.R, 2009).

The problem was summarized in the government report, Digital Britain. This concluded that:

“While local authority information sheets can serve a useful purpose for local residents and businesses, they will inevitably not be as rigorous in holding local institutions to account as independent local media...the Government is therefore inviting the Audit Commission to undertake a specific inquiry into the prevalence of this practice, its impact and to make recommendations on best practice and if restraints should be placed on local authority activity in this field.” (HOC, 2009).

The Audit commission’s report in January 2010 concluded with the recommendation “that councils review the value of their spending on communication with the public and their editorial policies to ensure these are politically neutral and publicly defensible.”

The recommendation was not implemented before the 2010 General election but the incoming coalition government’s legislative programme did include the commitment to “impose tougher rules to stop unfair competition by local authority newspapers” (HMG 2010). It may be therefore that the days of council “Pravda publications” are numbered.

REFERENCES

Association of North East Councils, 2006, Dialogue magazine, The Reputation Campaign, [online] www.northeastcouncils.gov.uk/global/assets/documents/asset20081021122813.pdf (Accessed 3 May 2010)

Croydon Guardian, 2010, Boris Johnson condemns London's council run newspapers as 'waste of money' [online] http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/croydonnews /4870945 (Accessed 25 May 2010)

Darlington Borough Council, 2010, Town Crier, [online] www.darlington.gov.uk/dar_public/ documents/Generic/towncrier/march08.pdf (Accessed 21 May 2010)

Gilligan.A, 2009, The propaganda newspapers, [online] http://www.thisislondon.co.uk /standard /article-23724285 -the-propaganda-newspapers.do (Accessed 1 June 2010)

Greenslade.R, 2009, Council papers are bad for local journalism, and democracy, [online] http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23679090-council-papers-are-bad-for-local-journalism---and-democracy.do Accessed 30 May 2010

Harrison.C, 2010, Payback time, Corporate Communications Magazine, [online] http://www.corpcommsmagazine.co.uk/features/658-payback-time (Accessed 23 May 2010)

Hartlepool Borough Council, 2010, Hartbeat, [online] www.hartlepool.gov.uk/site/scripts /documents_info.php?document ID=747 (Accessed 3 May 2010)

HMG, 2010, Freedom, Fairness, Responsibility [online] http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/files/2010/05/coalition-programme.pdf (Accessed 22 May 2010)

House Of Commons, 2009, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Future for local and regional media [online] www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910 (Access 5 May 2010)

House Of Commons, 2009, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Digital Britain [online] www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200934/cmselect/cmcumeds/43/5082.htm (Accessed 25 May 2010)

Local Government Association, 2005, The Reputation Campaign, [online] www.reputation.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=1 (Accessed 3 May 2010)

Local Government Association, 2009, Survey of Local Authority Newsletters, [online] www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/1857732 (Accessed 5 May 2010)

Southern Daily Echo, 2010, Councils consider axing newspaper notices, [online](http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8189645.Councils_consider_axing_newspaper_notices/). (Accessed 2

Petition triggers mayoral referendum

A VOTE will be held to decide if Great Yarmouth should have a directly elected mayor following a successful referendum campaign.

The target of 3,500 pledges of support has been reached triggering a referendum which is likely to be held in the autumn.

The petition is set to be presented at the town hall by campaign organisers Labour borough councillors Michael Castle and Trevor Wainwright next week.

Both have spent the last seven months collecting signatures to gain the support of 5pc of the population needed to hold a referendum.

A mayoral election would be likely to take place next May if the vote is in favour.

Mr Castle said: “Judging by the public reaction there is quite strong support for an elected mayor, nearly everyone we spoke to was positive.

“An elected mayor is not just a figurehead and chooses councillors to be part of a cabinet which can include cross party membership.

“The role would include the duties of the current ceremonial mayor and cover a four or five year term.”

The referendum campaign received support from Hartlepool mayor Stuart Drummond who was famously firstly stood for election as the town's football club mascot Angus the Monkey.

Borough council Labour group leader Mr Castle said he would be interested in standing as a mayoral candidate at an election.

He added: “I'm not hiding my light under a bushel, I would like to stand and would expect there to be a large field of candidates including independents.”

Mind, body and spirit fair

The programme promised Aromatherapy, Reiki, Indian Head Massage, Crystal Healing, Hopi Ear Candling and a series of talks by practitioners in many of these alternative arts. It all seemed too good to miss, so my Sunday morning was spent at the Hall Garth Hotel, Darlington, at their Mind, body and spirit fair.

When I arrived the whole place was lit by candles. I thought it was very atmospheric. “Unfortunately not,” announced the organiser, Sheila Wren. “It’s a power cut. Everywhere is off. We’ll just have to carry on as best we can.”

The lack of electricity was seriously inhibiting the activities of Nina Hall, the Aura Photographer, who had no power for her camera. However, just as I was walking past the table the lights came back on. It was a sign. I had to have my aura photographed.


My aura turned out to indicate I was going through a major change in my life. My right hand side was predominately orange indicating I was brave, positive and strong. Above my head to the left was white, indicating I was a bit lost. Below the white was blue just shading to green. Caring, sensitive, loyal and moving on through awareness. However, I wasn’t to be concerned “Your Grandfather is with you,” Nina reassured me. “I saw him as soon as you came into the room.” This apparently is very good, my Grandfather was my Spirit Guide and he was taking me on a good journey to a better place.

My aura safely captured I decided next on the agenda should be a more physical need. It was time for my ear candling. This was carried out by a very friendly and chatty lady called Jenny. The ear candling was fairly soothing and after it was completed Jenny opened the unburnt end of the candle to show me what the “chimney effect” had pulled from deep within my ear. A respectable amount of wax and assorted debris had been purged from within my head.

Now my chakras were calling out to be aligned. Reike therapy was the only answer. It seemed to consist of lying on my back and the Reike Master placing her hands on my chakra points, starting with the head and moving down my body to finish at my feet. I am apparently quite a well balanced person.

Moving on. I met my colonic therapist, Tania, who was there as an exhibitor. Surely not demonstrating colonic irrigation? Who would volunteer for that? I need not have worried; she was there to carry out food sensitivity and allergy testing.

I rounded off the day with an Indian Head Massage and then listened to Jo Smyth, a very perky lady, who spoke about the Law of Attraction in Action; Real Stories of Manifesting Health, Wealth and Happiness.

We can chose to be Tigger, full of enthusiasm and bounce; Eeyore, convinced nothing good can ever happen; or even Piglet, knowing that good things happen, just not to us; but the character we all should aspire to be is Winnie the Pooh, knowing that good things will happen to us, because we deserve them, and everything will be right in the end.

Driving home I pondered on the meaning of it all. My aura had been photographed and cleansed, both my ears fully candled, my chakras balanced and my head massaged. It was definitely a different way of spending a Sunday. Had this all made me into a bear of very little brain? Was I in my Pooh place?


The Mind, body and spirit fair cost £3 for admission. The prices for the individual treatments started from £5 for an Indian Head massage taster session and then went up from there.

The next mind body spirit fair will be in Staithes, North Yorkshire on 19th June 2010. Details available online at www.butterflyhealingspirit.com

Mind and Body Fair

Conventional wisdom would have us all believe that you can’t teach old dog new tricks. Well since embarking on my second half century on this planet I have decided it’s not totally true.

As a youngster I often held back from new experiences or activities because I was worried about what my family, friends or colleagues might say or think. It might be a bit extreme to say I no longer care about their opinions but it is definitely true that I place much less weight on them these days. I’m much more inclined to give things a go to see if I like them rather than dismiss something out of hand.

It is in this spirit or enquiry that on Sunday I will be going along to a Mind Body and Spirit Fair.

The range of activities on offer includes several that most people will have heard of, like Reiki, Indian Head Massage and Reflexology. There are also some that I needed to refer to the internet to discover more about, like Hopi Ear Candling.
Usually attributed to the Hopi American Indian tribe, an ear candle is a cotton tube, impregnated with beeswax, honey and therapeutic oils, that is lit and placed into the outer ear passage. The candle generates a gentle heat which combines with the therapeutic oils to produces a light suction, known as the chimney principle, which draws impurities gently to the surface, where they can be removed. Each ear is treated in turn, taking about 20 minutes in total. This is followed by a period of relaxation, and sometimes a facial massage concentrating on the sinus areas.

An Aura Photographer is also listed in the program and one of the other guest speakers will be explaining crystal healing and singing.
Nine months struggling with T-Line shorthand to reach approximately 80 words per minute, (while watching the younger members of my class mastering 100 words per minute with apparent ease), have convinced me that my capacity to assimilate new information might indeed be reduced, but my openness to new ideas and concepts is in many ways greater than it was two or three decades ago.

Maybe I’ll see you at the Fair?

Mind Body and Spirit Fair at the Hall Garth Hotel, Darlington.
Sunday 23rd May 2010. 10am - 5pm.
Admission £3.00 (inc.all talks).
For further details contact Sheila: 01287 641931
or email sheila@butterflyhealingspirit.com

Big Issue Anyone?

Thank You

I would like to express my thanks for the residents of St.Hilda Ward who voted for me in the elections of 6th May. It was a great privilege to serve the ward as your Councillor for 8 years.

The residents of the ward have decided, as is their democratic right, that they feel they would be better served by having a Labour Party Councilor as their representative rather than continuing with me.

To those residents of the ward who have asked if I will be back then I will never say “never” but I’m afraid it is very unlikely. I will miss the opportunity to be of service to the residents of St.Hilda Ward and I am actually quite flattered that the Labour Party felt they had to employ such Machiavellian tactics against me, plus they had to enlist the help of the Tories to ensure my defeat.

I do find it ironic that despite close family ties to St.Hilda Ward going back several generations and having my business based there for over 25 years I faced almost constant criticism from certain quarters for not living in the ward. The new Councillor Marshal doesn’t live in the ward, works in Peterlee and is married to the Labour Councilor for Rossmere. What actual connection does he have with St.Hilda Ward? (Other than sharing a name with one of the other ward councilors of course?)

I wish Labour Councillor John Marshall every success in his political career with the Labour party and hope he can put the people of the ward ahead of his Labour Party loyalty. I would however just like to offer him one small piece of advice.

The next time Councillor Marshall is quoted in the Hartlepool Mail he should not say he is looking forward to doing his best for the people of the Headland. As the Ward Councillor he should know that parts of Powlet Road and West View, Bakers Mead and Central Estate are also in ST.HILDA Ward, not just the Headland!

Happy Birthday to me!

When my wife asked me what would I like for my 50th Birthday I gave her three criteria. A surprise, a new experience or something I’d never think to buy for myself. I should have remembered the old advice, “Be careful what you wish for.”

A few weeks later I found myself dressed in a backless hospital gown, wearing disposable paper underpants and waiting for a speculum to be inserted into an unmentionable place. I was about to experience the wonders of colonic irrigation.

My knowledge of colonics up to this point was limited to vague memories about Princess Diana being a regular participant. My colonic therapist, Tania, looked slightly long suffering when I mentioned the Diana connection. “Diana was a supporter of colonic therapy,” said Tania, “it id a recognized medical treatment and as in regular use in hospitals until fairly recently. It was only phased out due to the lower costs of purgatives and drugs.”

Before a treatment there are no special preparations, although a few pints and as curry are probably not to be advised. A registered colonic hydrotherapist will expect you to be nervous and will put you at your ease before proceeding with any treatment. As this was my first visit I was asked to complete a fairly detailed medical history questionnaire and a brief rectal exam was carried out.

I specifically requested NOT to see the speculum in advance of the insertion. “Please,” said Tania, “a speculum in introduced to the rectum, NEVER inserted.”

The thought of several inches of stainless steel tube was bring tears of anticipation to my eyes regardless of the difference between and insertion and an introduction. At this point do not attempt to lighten the mood with a joke. I doubt very much if there is anything humorous you could say that has not been said a thousand times before.

“Take a deep breath,” said Tania, and in it went, around 1.5 inches (4cm) was introduced to my rectum to open my sphincter. Uncomfortable? Definitely. Painful? No.

The first stage was a coffee enema. “I only use Fair Trade Coffee,” said Tania. I must admit I found this less than reassuring and was worried that she expected me to drink it afterwards.

The treatment lasted about an hour in total and during this time about 60 liters of filtered water was flushed through my bowel. Tania monitored the water pressure very carefully and it is actually kept lower than that normally generated by an ordinary bowel movement. After about 10 minutes I was allowed to sit up and had the slightly surreal experience of Tania explaining what was being flushed from my system.

“You had fish and chips last night, didn’t you?” was one of Tania’s comments. “Look” she said, “that’s a piece of fish.”

My wife had excelled herself. Her present exceeded every one of my three criteria. It was a definite surprise; an experience I’d never have considered in my wildest dreams and something I would not have chosen for myself in a million years.

Before I left, walking rather gingerly I must admit, Tania arranged my next appointment. My present wasn’t just a one off experience. My wife had booked me in for a course of three visits!

Next year I’m going to ask for a book token!

Spring 2010 St.Hilda Independence Newsletter

Spring 2010 St.Hilda Independence News -

Local Election Leaflet No:1 2010

2010 Local Leaflet No:1 -

Dirty tricks

The old parties in Hartlepool are getting more and more frantic in their attempts to hang onto power and the tricks are getting dirtier and dirtier!

The Labour Party have become desperate enough to chose as their as candidate someone from the other side of town who just happens to be called “John Marshall” This is not the same John Marshall who is already an Independent St.Hilda Councillor. The real John Marshall is not due for re-election for another two years.

Independent Candidates are becoming more popular but the Independent in St.Hilda Ward is an open supporter of the Labour Party. St.Hilda voters got rid of him four ago after he went on a Councillor’s freebie trip to the USA just a few weeks before seeking re-election. Since then he has tried twice, unsuccessfully, to get the seat back.

As a Councillor I have never shirked from speaking out and I have never taken the path that was popular rather than the path I thought was right. The Mayor, Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems cannot stand me because I will not be silenced and keep asking questions the political class and senior council officers do not want to have to answer.

The only way to guarantee having a Councillor who is not just a Lib/Lab/Con or an Independent under possible false colours is to vote UKIP!

Councillors should make a decision based on conscience, principles and beliefs. In actual fact most are just told by their party how to vote and discipline is enforced by the “Party Whip"

UKIP does NOT have a whip AND has a policy of NEVER having a whip. True independents don't have a whip but the Lib/Lab/Con Party is not above using false independents as Trojan Horses to fool the voters and capture seats that they can't win under their own party colours.


The last time I was elected I promised three things;

to work hard on behalf of the ward and its residents;

keep residents and businesses informed about what was going on in the Civic Centre; and

listen to the views of residents and businesses.

I have kept all three of these promises!

I have worked hard for the residents of St.Hilda Ward. My opponents have critisied my attendance at meetings but I have always said it is not how many meetings you go to that count, it is what you do when you are there that matters. A Lib/Lab/Con Whipped Councillor might attend 100’s of meetings but all they do is vote with the party whip. They are not there representing the people who elected them! They are there to work for their party first, second and third.

I have published regular newsletters and residents surveys. These are printed and distributed at my cost. I have not had any money from the Council to pay for these newsletters or surveys. How many other Candidates have been willing to spend their own money outside election time to keep you informed and ask for your opinions?

I write regularly in the Hartlepool Mail; publish a blog about Council matters; and recently I have started to “Twitter” How many of the other candidates even try to communicate with anyone on anything like a regular basis?

Tall Ships Parking Zones

Abandon hope all who enter the Tall Ships RED Zone

START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

1. Open a new file in your computer.

2. Name it "Gordon Brown"

3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.

4. Empty the Recycle Bin.

5. Your PC will ask you: Do you really want to get rid of “Gordon Brown”?

6. Firmly Click "Yes"

Feel better?

GOOD - Tomorrow do "Peter Mandelson"

Says it all?

Just click here to Sod the lot of them!

Rumours!

You can tell there is an election coming up! The rumours that start to fly! I sometimes wish I'd slept with half the women I've heard that I've had! Of course most of the women in question would probably be less pleased to hear they have apparently succumbed to my silver tongue.....lol....

Usually about now the whisper will start that I don't even live in the ward! Actually I don't, that's true but I do have a permanent address in Beaconsfield Square where I have been based since 1986 when I came back from London. Of course the Labour party might have to be careful this time since THEIR John Marshall doesn't live in the ward either!

However, the best two rumours I've heard so far involve a senior member of another party who allegedly now lives in Harrogate but uses their sister's address for correspondence. I don't know if it's true and must stress that but I do hope it won't risk their elevation to the Chair Of Hartlepool Council in May? It could be embarrassing having the ceremonial representative of Hartlepool not even living within 50 miles of the town! I mean I get enough bitching and back biting over less than a mile!

The other rumour is a senior member of the council who allegedly commutes every week from a pied-à-terre in Wynyard to an estate in Ireland! I suppose with cheap flights and the type of wages paid at the top in Hartlepool Council it could be possible! One thing is for sure, no-one will ever find out using the Freedom of Information Act, Hartlepool Council have their own unique interpretation of "freedom" in these cases.

Why do Hartlepool Wards have 3 Councillors?

Why do Hartlepool Wards have 3 Councillors? This was a question recently asked by a Hartlepool resident and which is obviously of interests during the local elections.

All of Hartlepool's council wards, (with the exception of Greatham and Elwick which only have one each), have three Councillors. This is the number set by the government (or electoral commission? which is effectively the same thing .... lol ... ) as providing the correct level of representation for the Hartlepool electorate.

Personally I'd cut it to two in all wards which would give 34 councillors plus the mayor rather than the existing 47. In fact most Councillors are just there as party fodder and are whipped to the point of being useless. If you got rid of all of them, and the Mayor as well for that matter, it wouldn't actually matter to most people in the town as my experience leads me to conclude many people don't care enough about democracy to vote and many of those who do vote don't actually do so on the basis of issues but on blind party obedience. So, while democracy dies in Hartlepool the Council Chief Executive effectively controls what goes on and he of course isn't elected by anyone!

As Peter Mandelson has said "Europe is entering a post democratic era" where decisions are taken out of the hands of elected representatives and given instead to appointed apparatchiks. Mandelson should be proud of his old constituency in leading the way in this.

Hartlepool entered a "post democratic era" the day Stuart Drummond was elected and he was immediately taken under the wing of the previous Chief Executive who explained how things really worked. Since that day the Chief Executive has run Hartlepool with a smokescreen of democratic accountability in front of him provided by the Mayor and compliant Cabinet who rubber stamp the decisions made by the Chief Executive in return for regular photo opportunities in the Hartlepool Mail and of course their "special responsibility allowances"

Actually you could expand the question to why does the UK have 646 MPs and 72 MEPs and 129 MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) and 60 members of the National Assembly for Wales (although it is not called a parliament) and 108 members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland?

All these bodies are at best talking shops and are there to provide lucrative careers for the political classes. The real power in the UK (and Europe as a whole) in my opinion no longer resides in elected bodies! It has passed to the "appointees" the quangos and the bureaucrats.

Question to the Mayor

Question to the Mayor for Full Council on Thursday 15th April 2010. Apparently there are road closures planned? Resident only parking permits in the pipeline? My wife, who works as a chiropodist has been unofficially advised that the best thing she can do is shut up her surgery for four days and not even try to get round the town.

**************************************************************************

Will the Mayor please describe the measures in place, or proposed, for the period of the Tall Ships race that will allow the residents of the Headland to be able to continue with their everyday lives, or in the case of Headland businesses continue trading?

Question to Chair of Scrutiny Coordinating Committee

As an elected Councillor (well until 6th May anyway) I am entitled to ask questions at full Council. The one below went to the Chair of the Scrutiny Coordinating Committee for Full Council on Thursday 15th April 2010. Of course I can't just ask about anything I like, it is down to Peter Devlin to decide if it's a valid question and so if it can be allowed!

*******************************************************************************

Will the Chair of Scrutiny Coordinating Committee please tell the Council how many exempt or confidential reports (pink papers) she has received since it was agreed in December 2009 that these would be made available to her, the subject titles of these papers, the reason they were confidential or exempt from publication and to whom, if anyone, she has passed on each of the pink papers she has received.

Heaven or Hell

While walking down the street one day a "Member of Parliament" is hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a Problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not Sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the lift and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises....

The lift goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St.Peter is waiting for him.

'Now it's time to visit heaven.' So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'

The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'

So St. Peter escorts him back to the lift and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the lift open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the rubbish and putting it in black bags as more rubbish falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers the MP. Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time.. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning... ...

'Today you voted.'

Up a level

-----Original Message-----

From: Steve Allison
Sent: 02/04/2010 01:47
To: Office of the Information Commissioner
Subject: Re: Access to Information

Please find attached a completed complaint form and file containing supporting documents for a complaint I wish to make about Hartlepool Unitary Authority withholding information from an elected Member of that Local Authority

Councillor Stephen Allison
St.Hilda Ward Councillor
Hartlepool Unitary Authority

Need to Know.......

And the saga continues!
_________________________________________________________________________________

From: Peter Devlin
Sent: 30/03/2010 12:52
To: Steve Allison External; Alison Lilley External
Subject: Re: Access to Information

Hi Steve,

The 'need to know' is a common law principle, which establishes two main points;

(1) A Member is indeed entitled to access documents that are reasonably necessary to enable that Councillor to carry out their duties. However -

(2) This does not give a right to a 'roving commission' to examine documents. A 'mere curiosity or wish to see them is not sufficient' (various case law references).

I have covered the above in reports to CWG etc., and as the above applies the common law, the same has not been 'lifted' into Council constitutions, which generally follow the modular schemes under guidance issued in conjunction with the provisions of the Local Government Act, 2000. We (as a Council) have covered the same in the Member/Officer protocol, as indicated. Consequently, if a Member wants access to a particular report that is otherwise 'exempt/confidential', the above, even appreciating para 32 Part 4, comes into play.


Best Wishes,
Peter.

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Allison External
Sent: 30 March 2010 23:29
To: Peter Devlin; Alison Lilley External
Subject: Re: Access to Information

Peter,

I am aware of Part 5 of the Constitution and I am sure you are equally aware of Part 4 of this document.

Could you please tell me where in Part 4 Paragraph 32 it requires me to establish a need to know in this case as the information I was seeking was witheld from the Public under Category 4 and hence I an ENTITLED to inspect this document.

Best regards

Steve Allison

From: Peter Devlin
Sent: 31/03/2010 12:04
To: Steve Allison External; Alison Lilley External
Subject: Re: Access to Information

Dear Stephen,

it has come to my attention your requests to Democratic Services for the provision of agendas, reports etc., in 'hard copy' format and your contentions in relation to any 'need to know' basis, for the release of 'exempt' or otherwise 'confidential' information.

The request for the provision of agendas etc, follows on from your FOIA request and the response provided by my colleague Mrs Martin, which was in essence, that such information is available and can therefore be readily accessed upon the Council's website. Clearly, and trust you will appreciate, individual officers should not be engaged in 'sifting out' what is exempt/confidential information and to notify you of the same. I am given to understand, that Democratic Services are to supply in 'hard copy' format agendas/reports, pursuant to your request. Perhaps this can be reviewed in due course, as to the level of resource expended, but more so, the overall benefit to yourself.

I have provided reports to the Constitution Working Group, as well as briefing/Guidance Notes, covering the 'need to know' situation, which you are hopefully conversant, although, this does not come across in your communication with colleagues in Democratic Services. Where a report is on 'pink papers' a Member who is not privy to that report, in that they are not a Member of that particular Committee/Sub Committee or whatever, will need to justify that they have a legitimate 'need to know' in relation to that item. I am charged with the role to consider such requests, which is covered in the 'Officer/Member' Protocol (Part 5 of the Council's Constitution refers).

I should point out that neither the writer or colleagues wish to constrain or in any way obstruct an Elected Member in discharging the duties of their position for the benefit of their constituents.

However, there are parameters which surround access to information,which I believe you are patently aware. My purpose in sending this e-mail (and I am at pains not to labour or lengthen discussions) is to bring to your attention my own concerns as to what appears to be the engagement of several Council officers in dealing with matters raised by yourself, which could possibly have avoided the circuitous route that appears to have been followed.

Best Wishes,

Peter.

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So you want to be a Councillor? ....... Obviously NOT

I was a little bit disappointed, but not really surprised, at the low turn out last Saturday at the event we organised at the Grand Hotel to try and encourage more people to stand as Councilors.

The fairly obvious allegation being made now is that it was all just a stunt. That of course is the easy charge to make. Especially if you are one of those people who prefer to sneer at anything different.

As an individual and as a member of UKIP I am committed to local democracy. UKIP’s commitment to local referenda was actually the first policy that attracted me to them; the European dimension wasn’t top of my agenda by any means. As I learned more about the EU and how it works I also learned that democracy isn’t something that the EU is very keen on and the European Parliament is just a front to provide a smokescreen of democratic accountability while the real power lies with behind the scenes.

I first entered Hartlepool Council as an Independent Member and was soon made aware of how the system penalised independents. The entire structure of local government works round political “groups” and the machinery is set up that way. If you are not in a group then you are left out of many things. I personally would prefer to see all councilors as independents, no political groups at all in Town Halls. However it is made very difficult to operate an independent because of the way the rules are written.

Personally I don’t ever read UKIP’s local Manifesto these days because the only manifesto I recognise at local level is based on what are the best decision for St.Hilda Ward and then the best decision for the town as a whole. National policies do not control my actions at local level. At national level I do believe that this country does need to get out of the European Union before we are totally bankrupted by it but at the level of Hartlepool Council Chamber that isn’t an issue we will ever decide.

I have considered standing as an Independent at local level but have thought people may accuse me of trying to hide my national political views. So I suppose the best thing is to retain my UKIP Colours ever though I think they are almost irrelevant at local level since there is no party whip and no manifesto imposed on me. Should UKIP ever attempt to impose such a whip then UKIP would lose a Hartlepool Councillor the first time the whip tried to make me take a position I didn’t feel was best for St.Hilda Ward or best for the town of Hartlepool.

United Kingdom INDEPENDENCE Party! Exactly what is says on the tin! INDEPENDENCE of the UK from the EU and INDEPENDENCE of Hartlepool from Westminster.

That doesn’t mean UKIP don’t want to cooperation! UKIP think cooperation is vital BUT cooperation needs to be a voluntary act where the individuals, parties, countries work together for mutually beneficial aims and mutually beneficial outcomes. The whip system does not produce cooperation. Whipping is a coercive system that I do not support in local council chambers and never will.

The next e-mail!

My next attempt to find out what is going on!!!!

____________________________________________________________

E-Mail From: Steve Allison
Sent: 26 March 2010 18:14
To: XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Cc: XXXXXX XXXXXXX; Alison Lilley External
Subject: FW: Copy of Information

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dear XXXXXXXX,

Thank you for your e-mail.

It seems to me that you have this totally wrong? I would be grateful if you could let me have the statutory instrument by which you place upon me the obligation to provide a need to know?

As I am an elected member of Hartlepool Council surely the onus is actually on you as an Officer of the Council to justify why the information needs to be withheld from me?

Best Regards

Steve Allison

Not Open, Not Transparent and definitely Not Accountable (Well not to me anyway!)

How about the e-mail below from Hartlepool Council!

Open?

Transparent?

Accountable?

Do you think they know what these words even mean?

______________________________________________________

From: xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
Sent: 26 March 2010 14:42
To: Steve Allison External
Cc: XXXXXX XXXXXXX; Alison Lilley External
Subject: Copy of Information

Councillor Allison,

I refer to your request for information of exempt information. In order that the information be released, a 'need to know' basis will need to be established. I should be grateful, therefore, if you could please clarify the background to your request.

Thank you

Regards

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Democratic Services Team Manager
Corporate Strategy Division

UKIP Publishes Full Manifesto

In June 2009, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) beat the ruling Labour Government as well as the Liberal Democrats in the European elections, the most recent major national vote.

UKIP achieved 2.4 million votes and 16.5% of the national vote. The message was clear: UKIP is here to stay. Now we are asking the British people to vote in
our first directly elected Westminster MPs.

For the 2010 elections UKIP has published a full manifesto which illustrates how withdrawal from the EU can benefit the UK right across the spectrum, from immigration to crime, tax, jobs and the economy, pensions, public services, and even through to animal welfare and Post Offices. Few realise just how much the EU now controls and interferes with our day-to-day lives, despite never having obtained permission to do so from the British people.

UKIP is the only party determined to bring power and control back to Westminster and
the British people. Only UKIP will enable us to govern in the best interests of the UK.

It is time for straight talking.

The annual list of words that shouldn’t be used by the public sector to talk to people has today been published by the Local Government Association.

The latest list of 250 words has been taken from the European Union, central government, quangos, regional government, business management speak and public relations phrases. Council leaders are concerned that in the midst of such a tough financial climate a failure by the public sector to explain to people the benefits from what they pay in taxes could make the difference between an individual staying afloat or going bankrupt.

The list includes new words such as:

* Trialogue
* Wellderly
* Goldfish bowl facilitated conversation
* Tonality
* Webinar
* Under-capacitated
* Clienting
* Disbenefits

The previous list of non words included:

* Taxonomy
* Rebaselining
* Mainstreaming
* Holistic governance
* Contestability
* Predictors of beaconicity
* Synergies

Just as it would be impossible for two IT professionals to speak to each other without using technical talk, it would be impossible for public sector experts to avoid using a degree of jargon. However, the LGA Group believes that while there is a place for technical language to be used between experts, jargon must be removed from documents and publications that are aimed at the public.

See the full list here

Sale of mephedrone has rocketed

http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1510-eu-hurdle-prevents-meow-meow-ban

Talk of an immediate ban on mephedrone by the Government is highly premature thanks to EU rules which would stall such a move.

"People haven't been informed that our government cannot ban mephedrone without asking the EU for a three-month notification period," said UKIP spokesman Nigel Farage today.


"UKIP will never accept the EU telling us what we can and cannot do. We must be free to act as we choose when we choose.

"We need a proper debate in Britain now about what we need to do. At the moment, the Government is kidding the people but it simply can't act without an EU enforced delay.


"This useless government needs to tell the EU to back-off from controlling or delaying British legislation," said the UKIP MEP for South East England.


Under the EU Technical Standards and Regulations Directive 98/34/EC the government has to give the EU at least three months notification before it can change British legislation.


"Two British teens died from taking legal drug meow meow last week, other young life has already been wiped out," Farage said.


The sale of drug mephedrone has rocketed as head shops have spread over the country.

Class B Controlled Substance

I have been wondering about the current screams to ban the perfectly legal "plant food" after it was linked to 2 deaths!

If this is a case for a change in the law (and criminalising 1,000s of gardeners who will need to get their plant food of choice from an illegal dealer) then surely the 1,000s of deaths associated with smoking must make tobacco a candidate for Class B Controlled Substance Status?

The Caravan Channel

I fell asleep on the sofa yesterday afternoon, after a large Sunday Lunch at The Windmill (which I heartily recommend) and awoke to find myself watching a programme on SKY TV about how caravans are made.

Was it the Discovery Channel?

NO!

It was the Caravan Channel. Not just an isolated programme about caravans but a whole channel about them. It just shows you really can watch almost anything on Satellite TV.
It was edition 5/2010 I was catching yesterday and edition 6/2010 premiers on 24/03/10 on Sky 166/Freesat 402. It's already bookmarked in my viewing planner!

Just in case you can't wait until then there is a dedicated Youtube Caravan site (no pun intended) that recently boasted of it's 300,000th visitor. There review of the teardrop trailer is below.



I've not joined their Facebook Site but they are also on Twitter and I've added them as a "follow"

I must congratulate whoever is behind this site! They really seem to be a lot more plugged in to modern communication methods than many other groups!

Gordon Brown Commemorative Stamp

The Royal Mail created a new stamp with a picture of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Gordon Brown. However, the stamp was not sticking to envelopes.

This enraged the Prime Minister, who demanded a full investigation and after a month of testing and spending of £1.1million, a special commission presented the following findings:

1. The stamp is in perfect order.

2. There is nothing wrong with the adhesive.

3. People are spitting on the wrong side of the stamp.

(With Thanks to Mick Greenhough)

Secrecy Rules!

FW: Freedom of Information Request
Thursday, 18 March, 2010 8:55:37
From: Hayley Martin
To: Steve Allison External
Cc:Freedomofinformation ; Peter Devlin ; Alison Lilley External

Dear Sirs

Further to your repeated request I write to advise that my decision set out in the refusal notice sent to you on the 1 March applies. A copy is set out below:

Further to your request I can advise as follows:

Under the terms of the Constitution ALL 'pink paper' reports submitted to Executive decision making meetings (Cabinet, Executive Portfolios, Executive Committees, such as Grants Committee, and any joint Portfolio meetings) are sent to the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny. Therefore, any exempt item listed on an Executive Agenda was sent to the Chair of Scrutiny Coordinating Committee at the same time it was sent to the Executive Member(s).

All the agendas for Executive meetings can be found on the Council's website by following the 'Meetings and Minutes' link on the homepage. If we were to continue to produce a list of Exempt Executive Reports we would use the same process - albeit by looking at the internal system and the original Agenda Word documents.

Although your initial request was complied with I am unable to continue to provide the information. As well as the costs implications set out previously, a public authority is not required to 'create' documents under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 where you are able to access the information elsewhere (section 21).

I can only reiterate that the information you request is already available via the HBC website for you to access and compile a list yourself.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be sent to Alyson Carman, Chief Executives Department, Legal Services Division, Level 3, Civic Centre, Hartlepool , TS24 8AY , alyson.carman@hartlepool.gov.uk.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane , Wilmslow, Cheshire , SK9 5AF , www.ico.gov.uk.

Kind Regards

Hayley Martin


Constitutional & Administrative Solicitor
Legal Division

More people die from cold in the UK during winter than in Siberia!

At the start of the new millennium more people were dying in the winter from the cold weather in Britain than in any other European country, including Siberia, where temperatures regularly drop as low as -40C.

The actual UK death toll might be even higher than official figures suggest as very few death certificates give the cold as the cause of death. Research by Professor William Keatinge, of London's Queen Mary and Westfield College, found more deaths in people over 55 years of age caused by the cold are attributed to strokes and coronary thrombosis rather than flu. According to Professor Keatinge; "Many people here simply do not take the cold seriously and appreciate the danger it poses.”

The situation is unlikely to improve in the future. The UK’s reliance on imported gas is projected to rise from around 25% in 2008 to over 60% by 2020. Couple this with ever rising global fuel prices and this is leading to more and more UK households spending an increasing proportion of their income just to keep warm.

Official statistics identify households as being in fuel poverty when the ratio of fuel costs (usage x price) to household income rises above 0.1. The cost of energy is unlikely to fall in the long term and household incomes are static or falling in the current recession. The only element of the calculation that can be easily changed is the level of usage of energy.

When households reduce usage too far then people start to die. The warmth of the home still needs to be maintained while usage is reduced. Fitting double glazing and programs to improve wall and roof insulation have been running for several years but what is needed now is a more radical re-think of how the UK keeps warm in winter and technologies such as ground source heating may provide some of the answers.

A ground source heat pump uses the same principle as a domestic refrigerator. A fridge uses a closed loop system to pull heat out of the inside of the fridge and radiate it into the atmosphere from fins on the back. Anyone who has ever put their hand behind a fridge can tell you that these fins can get very hot. A ground source heat pump uses buried pipes filled with a water/antifreeze mix to pull heat from the earth and then to warm a building through radiators or under floor heating.

Theoretically there is no limit to the amount of heat that can be extracted from the ground, the longer and deeper the underground pipes the more heat that will be pumped. Unfortunately scaling up too far reduces the coefficiency of performance (CoP) of the system. This is a measure of the amount of heat produced compared to the amount of energy needed to drive the circulating pumps that push the water/antifreeze mix round the pipes. The best systems will deliver a CoP of around 3.2 but it does mean the homes being heated need to be fairly close to the ground source pipes

Many of Britain’s European Neighbors are well ahead of the UK in adopting this type of technology. The Dutch city of Heerlen uses a heat pump from abandoned coal mines going down to 800 meters below the city to run the radiators of hundreds of homes, shops and offices. According to Riet de Wit, a City Councillor in Heerlen. “We have proven that a local initiative can provide a local solution for sustainable energy. Moreover, our concept can be adapted by former mining regions all over the world.”

The Dutch system was developed by Karl-Heinz Wolf, Professor of Coal and Geothermal Energy at the Technical University of Delft. “You have it all year round and if you don’t need it, you close the tap until you need it again.” The system can even work in reverse during the summer. In the hot months the water can be taken from near the top of the shaft where it is cold enough to cool the city’s buildings. Professor Wolf is now working on a project to extract heat from a depth of 2.5km where the temperature of the water is 80-85C. “It is not difficult to do” according to the Professor, “the only thing you need is a mine which is in the vicinity of the industry or houses you want to heat.”

Unfortunately while these systems may be cheaper to operate and offer an effective, sustainable long term solution, they also cost much more to install than conventional gas or electricity powered systems. This makes them attractive to households that can afford to invest for the longer term but these are households that are very unlikely to currently be experiencing fuel poverty.

This problem was acknowledged by the government in February 2010. During a visit to a low income homes project in Dagenham the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announced that; “We are launching a scheme, the Renewable Heat Incentive, to encourage renewable heat generation at all scales.”

Joan Ruddock, a Minister in the same department, told the Ecobuild Conference at Earls Court in March 2010 that; “The Renewable Heat Incentive will deliver a step change in the way that the country generates its heat for heating hot water and our homes”

Any house or building which currently uses fuels such as gas, heating oil or coal, will be eligible to claim the RHI if they switch to a renewable technology. The RHI will be available to householders, local authorities and social landlords as well as the public, industrial and commercial sectors.

Fuel poverty is only one issue that can be addressed by ground source heat. Currently 60% of average total domestic energy bills are consumed by heating costs but domestic heating also accounts for 47% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. In order for the UK to meet its carbon reduction obligations 12% of UK heat is required to come from renewable sources. The RHI could save up to 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2020.

In addition to the environmental damage done by Carbon Dioxide production there is also the risk to heath posed by Carbon Monoxide which is produced by incomplete combustion in gas heating systems. On average over 30 people annually die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Heat pumps not only completely remove this risk as they produce no carbon monoxide but also remove a significant legal liability for safety from the housing provider and of course tenants are spared the possible fatal consequences of poisoning or even a gas explosion from incorrectly maintained systems.

Ground Source Heat pumps are also very suitable when water temperature safety is a concern. Typically Ground Source heat pumps produce water at around 60°C, considerably lower than the 90°C output by gas or electric heating systems. These temperatures are more than adequate for water for baths or showers but make it impossible for children or vulnerable adults to inadvertently scald themselves.

Details of the Renewable Heating Incentive can be obtained from the Department of Energy and Climate change (decc) Website. Details of Installers of Ground Source Heat pumps can be obtained from the Heat Pump Association, Waltham Court, Hare Hatch, Berks RG10 9YH or from their website, http://www.heatpumps.org.uk

Have a go and Stand for election!

People in Hartlepool who think they could do a better job than their existing Councillors are being challenged to have a go and stand for election.

Stephen Allison and Martyn Aiken, two of the 47 Hartlepool Borough Councillors are holding an open session at the Grand Hotel on Saturday the 27th of March between 10.00am and 1.00pm explaining exactly what people need to do in order to stand for election.

Stephen Allison, a UKIP Member of Hartlepool Borough Council, said; "Many people in Hartlepool tell me they think their local Councillors are rubbish. In some cases they may be right but just complaining never changed anything!" Stephen, who represents the St.Hilda Ward, continued; "The procedures for standing for election can be quite daunting if you have never done it before. Martyn and I will be at the Grand Hotel to answer questions and try to de-mystify the process."

You do not need to be a UKIP member to attend the open session, nor do you need to stand as a UKIP Candidate should you decide you want to give it a go in May. UKIP are committed to local democracy and want to encourage more participation even if that means independent candidates who may possibly end up standing in the same wards as UKIP’s own party candidates.

The open session will cover who can stand as a councilor, what the procedures are and how much it costs to put your name on a local election ballot paper. According to Martyn Aiken it is the cost that usually surprises people. "To stand in a General Election a Candidate needs to put up a £500 deposit. However for local elections there is no deposit required" explained Councillor Aiken of Foggy Furze Ward "Nothing, zero, not a penny. You fill in a couple of forms and hand them in to the Civic Centre and that's it, your name goes into the hat."

Candidates do have to pay for any leaflets they distribute during the election but with the cost of photocopying these days a simple black on white leaflet can be produced very cheaply. "The cost shouldn’t scare off anyone" said Eric Wilson, Chairman of the UKIP Hartlepool Branch, "UKIP normally allocate about £60 to a ward campaign in the local elections. Of course the bigger parties can afford a bit more at the moment but UKIP are still growing, unlike the Lib/Lab/Con who are losing members ever day."

You can stand for election to Hartlepool Council if you are 18 or over, A British, Commonwealth, Irish or European Union citizen, and you are registered to vote in Hartlepool or if you have lived, worked or owned property in Hartlepool for at least 12 months. You cannot stand for election if you are bankrupt, have been sentenced to 3 or more months in prison in the last 5 years, have been disqualified for corrupt and illegal practices or you are an employee of Hartlepool Council or hold a politically-restricted post in any other council.

Anyone who would like more information about the event can contact Dave Pascoe, UKIP Hartlepool Press Officer on 01429 223754, e-mail d.j.pascoe@virginmedia.com or just turn up on the day.

To see what the Hartlepool Mail did with this story, click here

Another Stonewall

I managed to use the Freedom of Information Act to discover that there were 22 Pink Papers produced by Hartlepool Council in the first few weeks of 2010. The Borough Solicitor had made noises that I was being "vexatious" making these requests but I think he realised that he had to let me have something. However the Council have moved swiftly to prevent such information being made available again!

Here is the response to my request for the Pink Paper List on a regular basis......

-----Original Message-----

From: Freedomofinformation
Sent: 12/02/2010 12:50
To: Steve Allison External
Cc: Alison Lilley External;Peter Devlin
Subject: Re: FOI Request No:1/2010 & FOI Request No: 2/2010


Dear Sirs

Unfortunately I would not be able to continue supplying you with the information in the format already sent because any further requests would be dealt with under the rules relating to consolidation of requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The rules provide that requests of the same or similar information can be consolidated for costs purposes. The costs limit is currently £450 which constitutes 18 hours of officer time in compiling the information.

Furthermore all of the information provided is in the public domain and can be found on the Council's website.

Kind Regards

Constitutional & Administrative Solicitor
Legal Division
Civic Centre - Level 3
www.hartlepool.gov.uk

You never know where things end up when you throw them out into cyberpace

They do say you never know where things end up when you throw them out into cyberpace. However imagine my surprise when I came across a piece entitled "Scrapheap Challenge" on a website relating to Hartlepool. I did in the past contribute to this website under the screen name "Steve Allison" but stopped doing in 2006 when the administrators of the site allowed it to be turned into a vehicle for personal attacks on me as a local councillor and an individual.

My "surprise" at the Scrapheap Challenge piece was mainly because it had a striking familiarity to a piece I wrote in November last year on this blog.

I have no objection to them pinching my work but if you are going to steal other people's efforts it is just courteous to acknowledge the source.

The same website are also running a piece entitled "In the Pink" which references a Freedom of Information Request on which the entire article is based! Once again it neglects to mention that it is a Freedom Of Information Request that was made by me!

Stealing stories from each other is common practise in journalism but usually they are re-written enough to at least make an attempt to make them appear to be their own work!

Elected Mayors in the UK

More people should have the right to elect their local leader, argues Prof Michael Kenny, of the IPPR think-tank. (Page 14 LGA First Magazine Issue 328 May 2008)

The idea of having more elected mayors in England seems to have pushed its way back up the political agenda. Even before the ‘Boris and Ken show’, there were signs that momentum was emerging in all the main parties behind the idea of introducing more mayors into England’s cities. The government’s forthcoming white paper will be watched with interest by supporters and detractors of elected mayors alike. Will they seize the initiative and give more people the right to elect their local leader?
This is certainly what I and colleagues at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) have urged government to do in a report published just before the London election. Drawing on the performance of the 13 mayors who have been in post in England, we found that the introduction of this office has nearly always coincided with an improvement in councils’ performance.
High profile
Hackney is perhaps the most dramatic example of a turnaround in fortunes under their elected mayor Jules Pipe (pictured). Every mayoral authority has either consolidated or improved its score in the comprehensive performance assessment. Elected mayors are better known to their electorates than council leaders, have produced a series of innovative and eyecatching policies (from congestion charging in London to crime reduction in the North East), and have proved highly responsive to the priorities of local people. Elected leaders tend to become beacons for the places they represent, and are more focused upon facilitating partnerships and balancing different interests than pursuing narrow party interests.
The worry that elected mayors will turn out to be celebrities or mavericks is not born out by the experience of those who have been in post. Even Stuart Drummond in Hartlepool – elected as H’Angus the monkey – threw away his costume after his election, learned the ways of local government and has helped his authority climb the CPA tables. In London, Boris won in part because of real policy differences between him and Ken Livingstone, but also because he realised he needed to downplay his celebrity image in order to compete.
The real democratic question that needs to be asked about elected mayors is why so few? When will we have a government that has the courage to steer away from the local referendum device that has played into the hands of sceptical councillors and proved a major obstacle to the introduction of more directly elected local government leaders?
LGA chairman Sir Simon Milton is right to argue that people are more likely to vote in local elections if greater powers are given to town halls. What he and others need to grasp is that capable and responsive elected mayors are an important means of enabling central government to feel able to delegate meaningful responsibilities in this way.
Michael Kenny is a professor of politics at Sheffield university and a visiting research fellow at the IPPR

How dare I agree with Councillor Brash!

As a backbench Councillor I have to take my small victories where I can. Usually this involves being the one of few dissenting voices questioning the decisions of the Labour/Tory/Lib-Dem Alliance that controls most of what goes on. At the last Council Meeting I was prepared to vote against yet another increase in Council Tax, which I did, and also to question the wisdom of signing up to a Local Area Agreement “Refresh”.

The Refresh set out Hartlepool Council’s commitment to various performance targets, including; maintaining the overall employment rate in Hartlepool at 5.6% points BELOW the North East average, maintaining the current level of 29% of children in Hartlepool living in poverty, so keeping Hartlepool 4.8% ABOVE the North East average and committing to maintain the Hartlepool baseline figure of 20.9% for working age people out of work and claiming benefits, which is 4.5% points ABOVE than the rest of the North East.

Basically Hartlepool Council will be concentrating their efforts for the next few years to maintain Hartlepool's position as having fewer people in work, more people on benefits and more children in poverty than the rest of the North East!

How can anyone say Hartlepool Council lacks ambition when it signs up to targets like that!

However, before I could raise my concerns Councillor Brash jumped to his feet to also decry the child poverty target. I think he must have been treading my blog again and wanted to get in first! He didn’t mention unemployment or numbers on benefits but he was worried about the children. He proposed a more ambitious target be set that would at least commit the council to narrowing the gap between Hartlepool and the rest of the North East. After he sat down I stood up and seconded his proposal! I agreed with him and said it was a good idea.

At this point the Council Meeting went into the Twilight Zone.

I am quite used to Councillor Brash going a funny purple colour with rage and being reduce to almost incoherence (I wish!) with anger at things I say in Hartlepool Council Chamber but this was the first time I’d ever had this effect on him by AGREEING with him. He was very upset that I’d dared to do so!

This is the advantage of not having a party whip telling me who I can and cannot agree with. If I think it’s a good idea then I’ll support it, if I think it’s a bad idea then I’ll say so and vote against it. Scary stuff for any Party Politician who usually can be whipped into putting party first, personal ambition second and ideology (if they have any) a distant third.

Councillor Brash was saved by the Mayor! Stuart leapt to his feet and announced it didn’t matter because we were only playing the game and submitting meaningless numbers to Whitehall that were just necessary for a box ticking exercise! This allowed Councillor Brash to withdraw his proposal, removing any requirement too agree with me, and accepting the understanding that the decision was irrelevant anyway and didn’t count for anything in the real world outside the fantasy land of politicians and the ivory towers they inhabit.

So there you have it. I can get the Labour group upset if I oppose what they say and even more upset if I agree with them. Of course the Mayor has now confirmed that any decision made by the Council doesn’t really affect what goes on in real life. It’s all just a box ticking exercise. It was nice to hear the Mayor finally admit that!

Unfortunately the increase in Council Tax does affect people in real life and the relentless rises are causing severe hardship to many people. I did also wonder if the "meaningless box ticking" also referred to the 4 Star Status the Council keeps getting awarded and which Drummond tells everyone “proves” what a great job Hartlepool Council are doing!

Hartlepol Council Sucesses!

Tomorrow night Hartlepool Councillors will be asked to approve yet another rise in council tax. This will be used to protect front line services in these turbulent economic times. Well that's the official line!

I for one will be voting NO to the increase. At the same meeting we will be looking at the LAA Refresh! A wonderful document that sets out ambitious plans for Hartlepool Council to maintain the overall employment rate in Hartlepool at 5.6 percentage points below the North East Base line average!

Yes, you read that right MAINTAIN the overall employment rate in the town at BELOW the north east regional average. Now there's an ambitious target for the town!

The Council are also going to try and MAINTAIN the Hartlepool baseline figure of 20.9% for working age people out of work and claiming benefits, again that is 4.5% points worse than the rest of the North East Region.

The document also admits that the current level of 29% of children in Hartlepool living in poverty is unlikely to fall and so the Council's target has been revised to "Maintain the gap between Hartlepool and the North East Region at 4.8% points".

Basically Hartlepool Council will be concentrating their efforts for the next few years to maintain Hartlepool's position as having fewer people in work and more children in poverty than the rest of the North East!

How can anyone say Hartlepool Council lacks ambition!

Hartlepool Property Prices

The Royal Armouries in Leeds this afternoon is holding a property auction which included a property I was interested in buying. It's a five bedroom Victorian property in need of some modernisation and a bit of TLC. It's on the Headland and had a guide Price of £70,000. Of course when you sell at auction the seller doesn't get that and the buyer pays a bit more. I thought it must go for less than that since it's not as big nor as well located as say a property on Victoria Road that the Council recently offloaded for £60,000! Unfortunately some other bidders obviously didn't know about the depressed state of the Hartelpool property market and it went for over the guide price! I wonder who does their comparable? Obviously Hartlepool Council don't use anyone who might make realistic commercial estimates of value in the real world!

PS Freudian slip in the typing of this post that the spell checker picked up. In my last sentence I'd typed "Obviously not the same people as make comical estimates of value in the real world!

Update on Big Brother!

The School District Website referred to in the post below can be accessed here if you want to read more about this story!

US school district spied on students through webcams

Originally in the Guardian on-line on Friday 19th February! read it and weep for the death of democracy and the arrival of big brother! Scary. All I can say is there is a piece of tape over my laptop camera and the built in microphone as well. Of course that doesn't stop the built in modem downloading to a remote surveillance website a copy of everything I type. They can already track you through your mobile phone of course and we are on CCTV Camera dozens of times every day! It's only a matter of time before we are all chipped like dogs!

So, could it happen here? Or is it ALREADY HAPPENING!

_____________________________________________________________________________

A school district in Pennsylvania spied on students through web cameras installed on laptops provided by the district, according to a class action lawsuit filed this week.

Lower Merion school district, in a well-heeled suburb of Philadelphia, provided 2,300 high-school students with Mac laptops last autumn in what its superintendent, Christopher McGinley, described as an effort to establish a "mobile, 21st-century learning environment".

The scheme was funded with $720,000 (£468,000) in state grants and other sources. The students were not allowed to install video games and other software, and were barred from "commercial, illegal, unethical and inappropriate" use.

The district retained remote control of the built-in webcams installed on the computers – and used them to capture images of the students, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court this week.

The ruse was revealed when Blake Robbins, a student at Harriton high school, was hauled into the assistant principal Lindy Matsko's office, shown a photograph taken on the laptop in his home and disciplined for "improper behaviour".

According to Robbins, Matsko said the school had retained the ability to activate the laptop webcams remotely, at any time. Backed by his parents, Robbins filed a lawsuit on behalf of all students provided with laptops by the school.

The suit claims a violation of the privacy and civil rights of the students and their families and accuses officials of violating electronic communications laws by spying on them through "indiscriminate use of an ability to remotely activate the webcams incorporated into each laptop".

It claims that since the laptops were used by students and their friends and family at home, images of "compromising or embarrassing positions, including ... in various states of undress" have been captured. A school district spokesman, Douglas Young, did not return a call seeking comment, but told the Philadelphia Inquirer the district was investigating. "We're taking it very seriously," he said.

In a letter posted on the school district's website, McGinley said the district had installed on the laptops a security feature that allowed the webcam to photograph the computer operator in the event the laptop is lost or stolen. He said that following the suit's filing, the district disabled the feature amidst a review of technology and privacy policies. He said the feature was activated only to help locate a lost or stolen laptop.

"The district never activated the security feature for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever," he wrote. "We regret if this situation has caused any concern or inconvenience among our students and families."

and the response.....

Between the dates 9th December 2009 and 10th February 2010 there were 22 Exempt Reports on "pink" paper that were deemed by Hartlepool Council as too sensitive for the public to see.

The {para x} refers to the reason why the information is not allowed in the public domain. In summary Para 1 is information relating to an individual, Para 3 is commercial information, Para 4 is information relating to negotiations with employees, para 7 is information that may prejudice investigations into a crime or future legal action and Para 10 is information which it is not in the public interest to disclose.

Cabinet
Monday 22 December 2009

1. Youth Offending Service – Results of the Core Case Inspection of Youth Offending Work – Assistant Director (Community Safety and Protection) (Para 10)

2. OFSTED Unannounced Inspection of Safeguarding Services – Assistant Director, Safeguarding and Targeted Services (Para 10)

Monday, 25 January 2010

3. Equal Pay Risk Update (para 4 and para 7) – Corporate Management Team

Portfolios
Children’s Services - Tuesday, 2 February 2010

4. Procurement Of Specialist Outdoor Play Equipment For Exmoor Grove (Para 3) – Director of Child and Adult Services

Finance and Performance - Friday, 8 January 2010
5. Land At Sandgate Industrial Estate (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

6. 19 St Columba's Parish Centre, Dryden Road (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

7. Courts Building, Victoria Road (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

8. Rockhaven, 36 Victoria Road (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

9. Sale Of Garage Land At Victoria Place (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

10. Rating Revaluation – Appointment Of External Advisers (para 3) - Assistant Director (Resources)

11. Support for Businesses – Chief Financial Officer

12. Belle Vue Way/Ladysmith Street (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

13. Land Corner Of Tower Street And Surtees Street (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

14. Surestart North, Hindpool Close (para 3) - Assistant Director (Procurement and Asset Management)

15. Tender For A Printing & Mailing Service For Local Taxation Demands And Benefit Notifications – Chief Financial Officer (Para 3 – though not stated on the agenda)

Transport and Neighbourhoods
Wednesday, 10 February 2010

16. Dial a Ride Service Review (para 3) – Assistant Director (Transport and Engineering Services)

Other Committees

Contract Scrutiny Committee
Monday 18 January 2010

17. Contract For The Provision Of Assessment And Services For Carers In Hartlepool (Contract Reference Number 408) - Strategic Commissioner Working Age Adults(Para 3 – though not stated on the agenda)

Monday 1 February 2010

18. Provision of an activities and mentoring programme (Contract Ref. No. 397) (para 3) – Director of Child & Adult Services

19. Provision of resources required to support the Team Around the Primary School model. (Contract Ref. Nos. 426, 427, 428, 429 and 430) (para 3) – Director of Child & Adult Services

General Purposes (Appeals and Staffing) Sub Committee
Thursday, 14 January 2010

20. Request For Payment Of Deferred Pension Benefits (para 1) – Chief Personnel Office
21. Request For Payment Of Deferred Pension Benefits (para 1) – Chief Personnel Officer
22. Request For Payment Of Deferred Pension Benefits (para 1) – Chief Personnel Officer

The Secrecy Tussle Continues.....

FOI Request No:2/2010
Submitted by e-mail Tuesday 26th January 2010

Dear Ms Martin,

Please treat this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act

Could you please provide me with a list of all pink papers which have been given to the Chair of the Scrutiny Coordinating Committee in the interval between my Freedom of Information Request of 11th January 2010 (My Reference; FOI Request No:1/2010) and the date of this additional request. I would like to know the subject of the pink paper and the reason, as defined in the Constitution of Hartlepool Council, why it was declared to be confidential or exempt.

Could you please acknowledge this request, quoting my reference "FOI Request No:2/2010" on your reply and on any subsequent correspondence relating to this request.

Thank You

Councillor Stephen Allison
Hartlepool Unitary Authority

Party Politics and the Hospital

Interesting comment on my previous post about stepping aside for an Independent Save Our Hospital Candidate. The person making the comment is disappointed in my for making the offer when I know the Tories and Lib-Dems will not be allowed by their central party machines to take me up on it. Basically that sums up the problem with party politics for me in the UK at the moment. None of the Candidates for the main parties in the UK are allowed to put their constituents first. Labour, Lib-Dem and Tory all have Party First, Career Second and then possibly, just maybe their Constituents a distant third.

As a member of UKIP I am not whipped by my party. I could step aside if I thought it was in the best interests of Hartlepool. I can put Hartlepool first, none of the other party candidates can honestly say that. Unfortunately it would need the Tories and Lib-Dems to also step aside to give an Independent a chance to beat Labour. Quite frankly I don't care which out of the three win because they are all now so alike that it makes no real difference. Actually the Tories in Hartlepool are worse than the Lib-Dems. The Lib-Dems are just disorganised and badly led. The Tories are actively working to keep Labour in power in Hartlepool, well at local level anyway. In the last local Elections UKIP, the Lib-Dems and Tories did agree to allow an independent Save our Hospital Candidate a free run in Grange Ward against the Council Chairman. At the last minute the Tories stood a candidate who took just enough votes tio allow the Labour Councillor to retain his seat.

Labour and Lib-Dems have stood aside to allow an Independent a free run at a Tory, hence Martin Bell MP! Of course they don't want to establish any real precedent for this sort of thing. For no other reason that the MPs from all parties have more in common with each other these days than they do with the ordinary voter. Just imagine if politicians started putting their constituents first, where would it end? Maybe in a real democracy in this country for the first time in decades! Now wouldn't that frighten the political class.

PS To my friend who posts the anonymous comments daring me to allow them through onto the blog. It ain't going to happen! When you start making valid points to debate then maybe, but until then anonymous abuse will always end up in the trash can!

DO THE POLITICIANS REALLY WANT TO SAVE OUR HOSPITAL?

As the UKIP Hartlepool candidate in the General Election I have offered to stand down if a genuine Independent Save Our Hospital Candidate comes forward who would be supported by all the other Parties in the town.

I was disgusted at the way the Tory Candidate recently tried to use the Hospital for party political purposes.

As I said at a meeting last night of the UKIP Hartlepool Branch, the Labour Party is no better. Labour deceived the entire town over plans for Hartlepool Hospital and the last Lib-Dem who was going to save the hospital was Jodie Dunn! What happened to her great love of Hartlepool once the by-election was over? The fate of Hartlepool Hospital should be above Party Politics. I call upon all the other parties in the town to get behind a single, non-party political candidate, to send the message to Westminster that the people of Hartlepool are still fighting for their hospital.

If Labour wins the election then they have proved they cannot be trusted over Hartlepool Hospital. The Tories have already said they will cancel Wynyard but without any guarantee that they will invest in upgrades to existing hospital facilities in Hartlepool.

The Lib-Dems used the hospital as a campaign gimmick in 2004 but lost interest in it after they failed to win the by-election. The future of Hartlepool Hospital under any of the three main parties looks grim.

It's time the political parties stopped using Hartlepool Hospital as a political football. A 'Save our Hospital MP' in Hartlepool would be a huge message to all the three main parties. UKIP topped the poll in Hartlepool in June 2009, we have been making steady progress in the town in the last few years and have high hopes for a good campaign in 2010. However, UKIP Hartlepool is willing to put the town first and step aside in the coming General Election for a genuine Save our Hospital Candidate backed by all the main parties in the town.

It’s time to stop playing party politics.

UKIP would step aside to allow a straight head to head fight between Labour and a mutually acceptable Save our Hospital Candidate. Will the other parties do the same and prove they put Hartlepool first?