Local Gov | Posted 17th October 2019

 
A town council has been forced to withdraw most the money from its reserves to cover an overspend of £100,000, auditors have revealed.

A report from the Auditor General found Penmaenmawr Town Council spent more on the local community than it received in income for three years due to its ‘poor financial management’.

As a result, it was forced to make up the money from its reserves, leaving its deposit bank account almost empty.

The report said the council had insufficient scrutiny of the accounts, ineffective budget setting, and lack of proper understanding of the make-up of its reserves.

Auditor General, Adrian Crompton said: “Penmaenmawr Town Council’s overspending is rightly a matter of public concern, and I am encouraged that the council has since put in changes to address the weaknesses identified in my reports. It is important that all four councils learn from the findings in my reports and address the deficiencies I have identified.

“Council members have a responsibility to local residents to ensure the proper stewardship of public funds and that councils live within their financial means.”

Northampton Chronicle & Echo | Posted 22nd February 2020

 
Fury over Kingsthorpe parish proposals being ‘railroaded’ onto residents

Opposition councillors are ‘beyond angry’ at plans to ‘railroad’ two wards into a new community council for Kingsthorpe.

The new Kingsthorpe Community Council is set to encompass the five wards of Sunnyside, Spring Park, Obelisk, Kingsthorpe ward and St David’s.

But the last full council meeting on January 20 saw members of the public from Kingsthorpe and St David’s say they had not been included in the consultation.

And councillors from Labour and the Liberal Democrats have joined forces to condemn plans to include the two wards in the new community council, and labelled the consultation process a ‘shambles’.

Labour leader Councillor Danielle Stone said: “I very rarely lose my temper but I’m beyond angry at what is going on. The Conservatives are contemptuous of residents and contemptuous of opposition councillors. We want this community council to be successful, but it’s too big and it’s going to fail.”

Councillor Jane Birch, who is both a borough and county councillor for the area, added: “Kingsthorpe village doesn’t want to be involved, and St David’s has huge challenges and I think it’s going to get overlooked and I’m desperately worried it won’t have a voice.

“A lot of people didn’t get the consultation and for those who did they’re not going to take notice of a seven page document with fuzzy maps.”

And Liberal Democrat councillor Sally Beardsworth said the proposals would be ‘awful’ for the people she represented, adding: “We are being railroaded into something that they never wanted and have not been consulted on. People who turned up to full council last time around are angry that they are not being listened to.

“It’s really wrong of the Tory administration to do things to people rather than work with those people. Half of them didn’t get the consultation letters so they couldn’t participate.”

As things currently stand the new Kingsthorpe Community Council would include the five wards and have 15 councillors for the 17,000 population. The new Northampton Town Council would have 21 wards and 25 councillors.

The trio have no objections to Sunnyside, Obelisk and Spring Park being included in the community council, but believe that Kingsthorpe ward and St David’s should form part of the new Town Council in the first instance before being given the chance to join the Kingsthorpe council at a later date if it wants. They say that proposal was rejected during a meeting with Conservative councillors.

A vote at Monday’s full borough council meeting is set to approve the new Northampton Town Council and the new councils in Kingsthorpe and Delapre & Far Cotton.

But Labour has tabled an amendment calling for separate votes on each of the three new councils rather than in one block, and for Kingsthorpe ward and St David’s to be moved into Northampton Town Council.

But speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Conservative deputy leader Phil Larratt – who has been leading the programme on the new local councils – said if the borough was to consult on the issue again then the delivery of the Town Council would also be delayed.

He said he would discuss the amendment with his group, but said: “We are representing their views because they were included in the consultation and the consultation was quite clear that there was support for a parish.

“We got to where we are with cross party agreement and have spent a lot of money on this process. If we change this we would have to go out and re-consult not only on Kingsthorpe but also for the town council as it didn’t include those wards. We don’t have the money to go out and re-consult, and it would put the whole thing on the backburner until at least the unitary had started.”

The original five ward Kingsthorpe Community Council had been proposed by the Whitehills & Spring Park Residents’ Association, but speaking at the last full council meeting representatives of WASPRA appeared to acknowledge that the three-ward proposal was better.

And Councillor Birch said to vote the councils through without ‘proper consultation’ was ‘wrong’. She added: “This is just something the Conservatives have cooked up between themselves, there’s no democracy, no logic and they are ignoring evidence.”

The Packet | Posted 13th June 2019

 
A Falmouth councillor who has apparently moved to Launceston was criticised for his “very poor” attendance record at town council meetings

Councillor for Penwerris ward Mathew McCarthy has attended 12 of his 22 meetings for the 2018/19 municipal year.

His address on the town council website has also now been changed to Wooda Lane in Launceston.

Councillor David Saunby said at a Falmouth Town Council meeting last night (Monday June 10): “I’m very concerned about councillor McCarthy’s attendance. We hardly see him.

“It’s my personal feeling that he’s not interested in this council. I’m a bit frustrated about this, he only seems to turn up at certain times.”

Town clerk Mark Williams informed the council that the minimum attendance requirement for town councillors is once every six months, which councillor McCarthy has not breached.

Councillor Saunby said: “I think once every six months is not good enough. I think it’s very very poor and there’s no excuse for it.”

Speaking to the Packet after the meeting, which he did not attend, councillor McCarthy, who also represents Penwerris on Cornwall Council, said: “My response is pretty simple – my Cornwall Council attendance record is 100 per cent.”

Town mayor Steve Eva echoed some councillors’ concerns at the meeting.

He said: “I don’t know where he’s living. As far as I’m concerned we are 16 around a table. If one of those people aren’t round the table they should vacate. He might have a genuine reason for not being here, I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon.”

He went on to say: “I think if he doesn’t want to be here he should be man enough to say ‘look, I have got other things on’.”

For three of his ten absences in 2018/19, councillor McCarthy gave apologies – one saying he could not attend for work reasons, one because he was ill and another because of a family commitment.

He gave no apology for the other seven.

It is not the first time that the Penwerris councillor has come under fire for his attendance record at town meetings.

In July 2017, the Packet reported that councillor McCarthy was criticised for attending only one meeting in three months.

He defended himself at the time, saying: “I’m working with people and getting things done.”

ThePacket | Posted 26th July 2017

 
Mathew McCarthy is defiant as his commitment as a councillor is questioned

Falmouth councillor Mathew McCarthy has defended his attendance record, which shows he has only attended one official meeting of both the town and county council since the May elections, after some fellow councillors questioned his commitment.

Liberal Democrat Mr McCarthy was first elected to the Penwerris ward on the town council in May 2015. He was re-elected at this year’s elections in May when he also won a seat on Cornwall Council with a 39 per cent share of the vote.

Since then he attended the first meeting of the new Cornwall Council on May 23 and did not attend any council meetings in Falmouth until Monday’s meeting of the town council’s finance and general purposes committee – over three months on.

Soon after the elections he asked to be taken off the town’s cultural services committee, but then changed his mind, but has resigned from its licensing committee.

At the last meeting of the full town council, fellow town and county councillor Candy Atherton asked: “Is Mr McCarthy planning to attending any meetings of this council any time in the near future? He has not attended one yet or any training.”

Other councillors also questioned Mr McCarthy’s commitment to his role as councillor, claiming he could not represent his electorate if he doesn’t attend council meetings.

At Cornwall Council Mr McCarthy is not on any committees, although he is a substitute on two – the electoral review panel and the customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee.

The other Cornwall councillors for Falmouth have attended more meetings. Ms Atherton is on one committee, and has attended six out of seven meetings; Geoffrey Evans sits on four committees and is substitute for another and has attended 14 out of 17 meetings; Alan Jewell is on four committees, substitute for another and has attended 12 of 13 meetings and David Saunby, who’s on one committee and substitute on two others, has attended all six of his meetings.

When tackled, Mr McCarthy defended his record, saying he had attended meetings that are “not recorded” and on Monday had been out working in the Penwerris ward from 9am until 5.50pm. “I’m working with people and getting things done,” he said.

“I am talking to residents of my ward and if they have a problem they can talk to me, but people are happy with the job I am doing. I have been dealing with planning, parking and road marking issues. If I thought I was doing a bad job as a councillor, I would be ashamed of myself.”

He added: “People are free to criticise, but it is the people of my ward that I am responsible to and they seem to be happy – I have not had any complaints. I was not elected by town councillors, but by the people of Penwerris.”

Manchester Evening News | Posted 1st June 2005

 
No confidence vote in parish council

Tintwistle Parish Council has received a vote of no confidence – although the borough council has warned it may not mean its abolition.

Residents who attended Tuesday’s poll voted yes to the question: Do you want to abolish the parish council? by 191 votes to 183.

High Peak Borough Council will make a final decision on its future. But officials are under no obligation to take note of the poll and said the government supports the idea of parish councils, something they would take into account.

A spokeswoman said: “The council may at any time carry out a review of parishes within its area. However, there is no duty on it to do so.”

She added: “If the borough council decided to give consideration to a review this is a lengthy process prescribed by law. It includes comprehensive consultation procedures of all those who would be affected.

“The ultimate decision would be made by the secretary of state.”

Chairman Pat Jenner said he was disappointed at the result of the vote.

“It’s not a great victory but it is something we have to be concerned about. Although some people weren’t able to vote, disabled people and people who were working because there was no postal vote,” he said. “It’s up to High Peak council now.”

He said he hoped the parish council and the residents’ association, which called for the poll, could put aside their differences.

Chairman of the residents’ association, Ralph Bennett, said the result shows the ‘obvious disquiet’ among the electorate.

“This result gives us the moral high ground,” he said.

“And it’s up to the people who voted against the parish council to petition High Peak to see it through.”

Cambridge News | Posted 3th March 2020

 
Residents ‘in limbo’ over South Cambs planning ‘pickle’

South Cambridgeshire District Council is “in a completely perfect pickle” over its planning process, an opposition councillor has said.

The council has announced there will be delays to planning applications while it awaits a session of its full council to convene on April 2 to amend its planning process.

The council has been challenged in the High Court on the legitimacy of its process for determining which planning applications are decided by elected councillors and which are decided by officers.

Prior to the legal challenge, the decision over whether an application went to the planning committee was taken by the chairman of that committee, a non-executive councillor.

On February 12 the council amended the process – or intended to – via the planning committee to shift the power to an officer, the director of planning Stephen Kelley.

The council says that in both systems the decision of either the chair of planning or the planning director is made in consultation with the other.

 
‘We want to be watertight’

But the campaign group Fews Lane consortium, which brought the original legal challenge, then made a further intervention, threatening another challenge and alleging it was unlawful for the council to change its constitution by any means other than a vote at full council.

Leader of the council, Lib Dem Cllr Bridget Smith, said after the meeting on February 12 that changes were made to the planning deferral process “to remove any legal ambiguity”.

The cabinet member for planning, Lib Dem Cllr Tumi Hawkins, originally defended that decision when the Fews Lane Consortium queried its legitimacy.

But Cllr Hawkins then issued a second statement saying: “Although we believe our constitution is clear on the matter, we want to be watertight. To do this we will be taking a report to full council on 2 April for a final decision.”

 
‘Arrogant’

Independent councillor Deborah Roberts has now hit out at the council administration, saying they have left the planning process and residents “in limbo” and behaved “arrogantly”.

“South Cambs don’t seem to know their own constitution,” she said. “They have got themselves in a completely perfect pickle.”

She said: “I’m afraid it’s because this current administration seems to think that it knows all and the general public knows nought and they just ignore them and ignore the parish councils.

“I understand they were warned about this issue last autumn. This whole thing could have been avoided.

“The Lib Dems on planning are getting too big for their boots too quickly. They need to take a step back and take a deep breath and they need to take proper legal advice.”

And she said “it’s quite clear that a lot of the parish councils are very unhappy about how delegation is being done”.

Cllr Roberts also queried the council’s communications throughout the ordeal. She said the council appeared to reject the charge it had done something wrong, while appearing to concede that it needed a further vote in the full council.

She likened the council’s communication with councillors over the issue to the difficulties associated with getting meat from a crab or lobster.

And she also raised fears planning applications may now go over the head of the council and to the government inspector and warned of the possibility of further legal fees to come.

She said those responsible for the planning “saga” should “consider their positions”.

 
‘We inherited the constitution’

In response, Cllr Smith said: “Shortly after we took over at South Cambs, we initiated a full review of the constitution of the council that we had inherited. This is painstaking work and it is now reaching its conclusion. The resulting document is much better and more clearly presented.

“The council has been the subject of some legal challenges on this matter. In order to be sure that the council is acting legally, we have sought external expert legal advice. Regrettably, the cost of this has been £3,725.”

The council said it could not say if it is likely to incur further legal costs as it will depend on factors outside of its control.

“A Strange breed!”

There have been many instances of council meetings becoming a battle ground with councillors finding it hard to see why residents distrust them, and residents seeing councillors on nothing more than an ego trip!

Below are just a few of the troubles that come from Parish and Town Councils – not all the fault of the Council. Residents can and do get irate if they feel that a development or a ‘problem’ nearby is the fault of the council. Nimbyism is rife in all Towns and villages, but it is often antagonised by the cynicism of some of those on the council.

The Hunts Post | Posted 7th March 2014
 
Clerk jailed for 12 months after stealing more than £50,000

Former Alconbury Parish Council clerk is jailed for 12 months after stealing more than £50,000
A former parish clerk has been jailed for 12 months after stealing more than £50,000 of council money, including funds from its youth group, and gambling it away.

Mum-of-three Joanna Sharp, of Hill Close, Brington, appeared at Peterborough Crown Court for sentencing today (Thursday).

The 28-year-old, who started working for Alconbury Parish Council in October 2009, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to committing fraud by abuse of position as parish clerk by taking money without authorisation and producing false financial documentation.

Prosecuting, Cheryl Williams said Sharp’s fraud came to light in May last year when Lloyds bank contacted parish council chairman Judith Aylott to query a cheque which appeared to have her signature on it. She was shown a further nine cheques which she had supposedly signed.

“Mrs Aylott realised immediately she had not signed the cheques and they must be fraudulent,” said Miss Williams.

When challenged by Mrs Aylott, Sharp admitted she had stolen £10,000 and asked that the matter not be reported to police because she fully intended to repay what had been taken, the court was told.

Miss Williams continued: “When examined, the paperwork appeared to show more money had been taken and financial documents had been tampered with to cover it up.”

Sharp was dismissed by the parish council which contacted police and instigated its own financial investigation.

It revealed that from July 2011 there had been 139 separate fraudulent transactions on an account, totalling £55,893.85. There were seven transactions on another account and Sharp had also made payments to her mother, Mrs Howard, to whom she owed money.

“It appears the defendant managed to manufacture apparent bank statements with the appearance of authenticity,” said Miss Williams, who described the fraud as “sophisticated, persistent, and carried out with a degree of skill and care” to deceive auditors and Mrs Aylott.

She added that the total defrauded was thought to be £65,322.43, but did not include monies repaid by Sharp or salary which she had not been taken.

The money was spent on gambling via online websites such as PokerStars and, while some was repaid, it was a fraction of the total taken.

A visit from bailiffs over mounting debts accrued by her husband had prompted the fraudulent behaviour, said Miss Williams, and matters had “spiralled out of control” when he was made redundant and then could not take up a new job after suffering a heart attack.

Commenting on the impact of Sharp’s actions on the parish council, Miss Williams added: “They gave up their own time for the good of the community so they feel all the more keenly the betrayal of trust which has taken place.

“Work that could have been done on behalf of the community will now be prejudiced because of lack of money.”

Defending Sharp, Miss Katya Saudek said she had taken the money in desperation with the intention of it being a “bridging loan”.

Her relationship with her husband, which has since ended, was described as “very difficult”. “She was subject to control,” said Miss Saudek. “She was not allowed out to see friends and family, he was extremely jealous of her and she ended up finding solace in the computer as the only social outlet she had.”

While her gambling was not an addiction, it was said to be “problematic”.

She could not explain to her husband that his redundancy money was needed to pay off the debts she had built up by stealing from the parish council, said Miss Saudek, and she had to go along with what he wanted to do.

“Miss Sharp is desperately sorry for what she has done and desperately ashamed for what she has done,” said Miss Saudek, who added that her greatest wish was to repay the money.

Sentencing Sharp to 12 months in prison, Recorder Miss Angela Rafferty told her: “Debt and personal financial insecurity is commonplace in these days of recession. That’s not a reason to turn to crime. Many people struggle on honestly and you made no attempt to.

“You have placed yourself in this avoidable position by your dishonest actions.”

Sharp was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge.

Commenting on the case, Mrs Aylott said it had been “really tough” not being able to say anything to Alconbury residents.

With court proceedings having concluded, a newsletter is due to be sent to every household in the parish outlining the facts, she added.

“The hardest bit is to have abuse of trust,” she continued. “We are a small village and treated her as family.

“We took years to build up the reserves and she’s taken everything.”

The Leicester Mercury | Posted 13th June 2013

 
Parish councillors forced to resign

A district council has taken control of a chaotic parish council after six members were urged to resign in front of scores of villagers.

Deputy leader of Blaby District Council Tony Greenwood stood before a parish meeting in Kirby Muxloe and offered the panel of six councillors an ultimatum.
He gave them two choices: to allow the continuation of a petition calling for the district’s intervention or to resign on the spot.

Coun Greenwood warned the panel the petition would succeed – and produced six resignation forms from his bag.

The move followed years of failures at the parish council, which were recently brought to light in an Audit Commission report which criticised numerous aspects of its governance.

All six councillors signed that night, leaving only four, who had not attended the meeting.

It means the parish council does not have enough members to make official decisions, leaving the district to assume automatic control.

The next step will see Blaby District Council install a parish authority to run the parish until a by-election is held.

Blaby council leader Councillor Ernie White said: “This situation has brought parish councils into a really bad light.

“It’s almost unheard of for a parish council to act the way it has over the past few years.

“But I’d like to thank Tony (Greenwood) for the work he’s done and now we can look to the future and put Kirby Muxloe’s problems behind us.”

Initially, Blaby District Council will appoint six “non-politically-aligned people” to run the parish, while plans are put in place for a by-election, said Coun White.

“We now need people of good standing and good intent to come forward and take this council forward, and leave the bad times in the past,” he said.

In May, the Audit Commission compiled a damning report which listed a catalogue of failures at Kirby Muxloe Parish Council. Among the findings were evidence of poor record-keeping, missing information about council assets and a failure to show it had paid VAT.

The report’s author, Stephen Warren, also found the council had ignored requests under the Freedom of Information Act and failed to recognise it had any problems.
One of the councillors to resign last week was villager Andrew Bingham.

He said: “We welcome the intervention of Blaby in this matter and we hope the new council appointed by Blaby council sorts out the problems which have been rattling around for a number of years.

“The report from the Audit Commission finally nailed it. Blaby couldn’t ignore it and realised that something had to be done. I was happy to sign the resignation if it means that we will have a properly functioning parish council.”

On June 18, a meeting will be held at Blaby District Council to install six temporary councillors who will oversee matters until a by-election is organised later in the year.

The Daily Mail | Posted 18th December 2014

 
Fight breaks out at parish council meeting after disagreement over sheep grazing rights

• Meeting at Briercliffe Parish Council had to be abandoned after fight.

• It is believed that discussions about sheep grazing rights became heated.

• Lancashire police examining video footage of the incident on Monday night.

• Police were called to a parish council meeting after a row over sheep grazing turned into a physical fight.

• Lancashire police have called in video footage of the incident on Monday, at a meeting of the allotments committee of Briercliffe Parish Council.

• The meeting had to be abandoned after discussions about sheep grazing rights became heated and ‘swear words were exchanged’ before the row spilled outside.

Lancashire Constabulary said it is now investigating possible public order offences.

Councillor Margaret Lishman, who chaired the meeting, said: “The meeting had to be adjourned because a fight broke out between some members of the public.

“The matter is with the police at the present time so it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.”

A police spokeswoman said the matter was under investigation and officers were reviewing video footage of the incident.

She said no arrests had been made, but police were looking into possible public order offences.

Former parish councillor Sarah Seed has been involved in protracted negotiations over grazing land for her sheep Millie, along with fellow councillor Colin Meeks.

She resigned earlier this month along with Coun Meeks, and lodged a standards complaint with Burnley Council.

The scuffle broke out at the meeting between council lengthsman Michael Greenwood, and Mrs Seed’s husband, Jimmy.

Mr Greenwood works as a contractor for the Parish Council, as council lengthsman.

Lengthsmen are employed by parish councils to tend to parts of the village such as commons and village greens, and maintain drainage into fields and public areas.

Mrs Seed said: ‘It started in the community centre.

“There was just a scuffle, nobody really punched anyone else, it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

“I’m not surprised that a fight broke out.”

“It’s the way they’re treating people in the parish that we disagree with.”

Another member of the public who was at the meeting, Paul Stowell said: “It was fight between a member of the public and the parish council lengthsman.

“The meeting all stopped when it spilled outside and police were called.”

The Daily Mail | Posted 1st October 2013

 
Residents vote to abolish Town Council

Residents have voted in favour of scrapping a town council in South Yorkshire, after its town clerk was jailed for fraud and theft in 2013.

Janet Cooper was jailed for eight years for fraudulent activity, which forced Brierley Town Council to take out £1.3m in loans to deal with the financial implications of the crime.

A vote on the future of the council has now resulted in 983 residents saying it should be scrapped, with only 202 votes for keeping it.

The motion will now be considered by Barnsley Council on 30 July, who must decide if it will fund services currently paid for by the parish precept at a cost of £157,000 per year.

Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said: “Only Barnsley Council can take a decision on this issue but the people of Brierley and Grimethorpe have spoken. I’ll be taking a motion to full council on 30 July recommending that our officers work with Brierley Town Council to produce a report with a strategy, key actions and timetable for the abolition of the town council and civil parish. I expect that this will go to full council in September 2015.”

… and from the Mail Online
 
Town council clerk masterminded £1million scam then started using white stick to claim she was blind and had no memory of offences.

• Janet Cooper spent the money on holidays and a box at West Ham
• She claimed to be blind and had no memory when offending came to light
• She has admitted fraudulently obtaining £700,000 and theft of £300,000
• She has now been jailed for eight years at Sheffield Crown Court
• The town council is now £1.3m in debt and has taken out emergency loan

A former town council clerk who masterminded a £1million scam from her office has been jailed for eight years.

Janet Cooper spent the money on Mediterranean cruises, holidays with her husband in Devon, a £21,000 car and a box for council staff for a match at West Ham United.

When the scale of her offending was uncovered she claimed to be blind and said she had no memory of events.

The convicted fraudster – once the subject of a Channel 4 documentary – also carried a white stick and wore black glasses.

After the hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Stuart Hall said: “There is no medical evidence to substantiate her blindness or memory loss.”

Cooper was clerk at Brierley Town Council, near Barnsley, for three years.

From the beginning of her time at the council she began pocketing a total of £295,000, which she siphoned off from £695,000 public works loans she dishonestly obtained.

She used the money to go on holiday, buy a new Volvo and offered £375,000 cash on a four-bedroom bungalow, as well as spending £3,500 for a box at West Ham for council staff to see Barnsley play.

She also claimed she was a Channel swimmer and collected sponsorship money.
Sentencing her today to eight years in jail Judge Peter Kelson called Cooper “pathologically dishonest”.

She had previously been jailed for 15 months at Basildon Crown Court in 1999 for theft and false accounting and again, in September, 2003 for three years at Leicester for stealing £800,000 from her then employer.

On her release she lied on her application form and got her £20,000-a-year job at Brierley Town Council.

Her crimes were only uncovered when she went into hospital for a brain tumour operation and a replacement finance officer began investigating.

Four council jobs had to be axed, services cut and 5,000 council taxpayers faced increased charges as a result of her offending.

The town council is now £1.3 million in debt and has had to take out a £480,000 emergency Government-sanctioned loan to pay recurring annual loan charges of £44,000.

It is estimated the current case has cost the state £100,000 in court costs, the police £75,000 to investigate and another £25,000 for the finance officer.

Cooper staged the fraud by forging councillors’ signatures on documents and falsifying the minutes of council meetings to apply for loans.

None of the councillors or other officials had any knowledge of her offending.
She changed her plea to guilty to four counts of fraud and one of theft on the second day of her trial after the prosecution opened the case.

The jury was discharged after returning formal guilty verdicts.

Her only defence was loss of memory but Ian Goldsack, prosecuting, told the court that a number of specialists had examined her and ‘there were doubts to say the least about the truthfulness of her medical condition’.

Cooper, 51, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, admitted dishonestly abusing her position as council clerk by obtaining loans of £350,000, £152,500 and £66,000 from the Public Works Loan Board and a further loan of £127,000 without authority in 2008 and 2009.

She also admitted theft of £295,296 belonging to Brierley Town Council between November 1, 2006, when she first started and when her service effectively ended on December 31, 2009.

Cooper maintained they were grants but in fact they were loans, said Mr Goldsack, which had serious consequences for the council.

“It has meant significant cuts to services and people losing their jobs and an increase in taxes payable by the local community to try and cover the costs,” he said.

Cheques totaling nearly £300,000 were either drawn or transferred from the council’s bank accounts by Cooper in her own name or that of her husband.
She also falsified a large number of invoices, some from companies which had never traded with the council.

‘When the investigation was underway she has maintained that she has lost her eyesight and she has lost her memory,’ said Mr Goldsack.

Former Mayor of Brierley Patrick Doyle said in a statement that it had been a disaster for the council in a disadvantaged area. “Everyone in the community is a victim of this situation for at least the next 20 years,” he said.

Her barrister Andrew Smith said: “This is a lady with complex psychological and personality issues.”

Judge Kelson told her: “The dishonesty involved was persistent at a time when many in this country are thankful for a job. Your salary wasn’t enough for you and so you deceived your employers in a sophisticated and complex way.”

He went on: “But for your ill-health you would have taken more and more and more.”
Afterwards Det Sgt Hall said: “She would often try and ingratiate herself with other people and appear to be quite generous – but it wasn’t her money.

“There is nothing left in her bank account and there are no assets. It has all been frittered away. Barring the odd holiday or purchase she has not really led a champagne lifestyle.

“She has lied about everything and even her husband is another unwitting victim of the lifestyle she has fabricated.”

The East London & West Essex Guardian | Posted 10th January 2012

 
Buckhurst Hill: Parish council forced to pay £75k in compensation

AN authority has been ordered to pay almost £75,000 in compensation after unfairly dismissing a former caretaker.

Last year Buckhurst Hill Parish Council was found guilty of unfairly dismissing John Lockhart, 63, who had worked for the authority for almost two decades and had a previously unblemished disciplinary record.

The council was found to have sacked Mr Lockhart after wrongly accusing him of falsifying his timesheets.

Mr Lockhart suffered severe depression as a result, and parish councillor Sylvia Watson recalled to the tribunal that on the day of Mr Lockhart’s appeal against being dismissed “he spent the morning with his head in his hands and spoke very little.”

The authority have been ordered by an Employment Tribunal to pay Mr Lockhart almost £75,000 in compensation.

Late last year all seven of the council’s ruling Liberal Democrat group walked out, leaving four Tory councillors holding the reins.

In December a second former parish council employee had their case for unfair dismissal heard at a tribunal, and the outcome of that hearing is expected at the end of the month.

Parish councillors have admitted that though they have enough money to cover the first payout, a second hefty compensation bill could wipe out their savings and force them to seek help from Epping Forest District Council.

However, there will be no increase to the parish precept, which will councillors recently decided will remain the same as last year.

Mr Lockhart, who lives in West Grove in Woodford Green, said: “The compensation would never be enough, the way the dismissal effected me.

“I have been extremely ill since this started and am just glad now that it is now over.”

He said that most of the money would be spent on lawyer’s fees.

“It was never really about the money though, it was about clearing my good name. The people of Buckhurst Hill deserve to know what has been happening.”

Parish councillor Ron Braybrook said: “we are waiting to see what the outcome of the second tribunal, but would have to go to the district council for assistance if there is another big payout.

“We do not have enough in our reserves to cover paying out as much again.”
A law unto themselves

We have a planning application in our village for which the Parish Council carried out a survey to solicit local opinion. The majority of the villagers objected with roughly 70% against the application and 30% for. Yet the Parish Council voted to approve the application. Is this right, as I thought the Council represented the majority of the Parishioners?

The Watford Observer | Posted 15th March 2013

 
Chorleywood resident Susan Bookbinder “harassed” by parish council over wrong colour gravel

A Chorleywood resident has been left feeling harassed by a parish council campaign to force her into removing “appalling” gravel from outside her home.

Susan Bookbinder said Chorleywood Parish Council took such exception to the stones – placed on common land outside her home – that staff were sent to photograph the offending gravel the next day.

The broadcaster and journalist, who lives on Chorleywood Common, says she has been “harassed” by the council which sent her letters, contacted her neighbours about the stones and sent officials to examine the area last weekend while she and her eight-year-old son Zac were at home.

She said: “This is ludicrous, it is petty and frankly I find the whole thing a little creepy. On Sunday (November 11) there were three people walking up and down outside my house and when I asked who was taking photos, the council said they needed to gather evidence.

“It really is just pettiness; surely there are more important things to worry about, I told them I would try to filter the green and brown ones out if they assured me they would replace the gravel.

“I feel harassed when I think a person from the council was taking photos of my house and snooping on my son and I.”

The 200-acre common is a renowned local nature reserve and is owned by the parish council with the public enjoying the right to access it on foot for “air and exercise”, those living on the common are also permitted to park outside their homes on common land.

The dispute between Ms Bookbinder, who has lived on the common since 2005, arose when she laid the stones in August after making repeated requests for the council to replace gravel where she and her neighbours parked.

In a letter sent to Ms Bookbinder, who presents The Morning News for radio station LBC, the council defended taking photographs, saying they were for records and without any intention of “snooping” on her The letter adds that the stones on the permitted parking area were re-laid last year “at considerable expense” to the parish council.

The council declined to comment on the matter, however during Tuesday evening’s open spaces committee meeting, parish clerk Yvonne Merritt told the committee: “There are no legal obligations to this property, we do not have to provide the area as a driveway.

“The chippings she laid look appalling therefore we asked her to remove them because they are totally out of keeping with the area.”

Nick Pickles, director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said: “These officials are totally out of line. Turning up with a camera to take photographs, writing threatening letters and talking to someone’s neighbours all because of the colour of gravel.

“It’s another case of busybodies with nothing better to do interfering in people’s private affairs when they have absolutely no right to do so.”

There is an interesting follow up to the above article, see link below.

The Daily Mail Posted 10th October 2015

Daily Telegraph | Posted 5th May 2016

Elderly villagers revolt at parish council meeting and overthrow ‘newbie’ councillors for solar farm and modernisation plans

Elderly villagers have overthrown a parish council of “newbies” after a complaining about their plans to build a solar farm and hire a £50,000 a year warden.

A by-election has been triggered at Danehill Parish Council following a mass resignation at a “blood bath” public meeting.

It came amid a bitter feud between the council and its critics, and allegations that a group of retired residents spearheaded a campaign of “name-calling” and bullying councillors.  

Charles Critchley, 45, an information security consultant and chairman of the parish council, led the walk-out after claiming the members had been subject to “personal and collective abuse” and “unsubstantiated allegations”.

Adeline Garman, a councillor, blamed the generation divide between the older community who describe themselves as “caring parishioners” and the “newbies” trying to set up projects including a fund for innovative community ideas.

Mark Rimington, another councillor, said that the group of elderly parishioners, who call themselves The Friends of Danehill and Chelwood Gate, came to the meeting and “wanted blood”.

“Some people are just frightened of change and want to retreat to the sort of England of the 1950s of cucumber sandwiches,” said Cllr Rimington, 59, a business coach and management consultant. “They are harking back to something that probably never really existed.”

“There has been accusation and name-calling. There has been personal and collective abuse”, Charles Critchley, chairman of the parish council.

The council and its vocal opponents also clashed over the running of the village’s nursery school, appointment of a parish warden and an increase in taxes.

The group of critics has set up their own website where they describe the councillors as “out of touch with the needs of parishioners” and express their “dismay” at plans to build a £2.8 million solar farm.

Cllr  Critchley,  who has lived in the village for 16 years with his family, said he felt the only way to bring the community together was to disband the council so a by-election could be held.

“As a council we have a responsibility: that is, the ability to respond to challenges in a changing world,” he said.

“There has been accusation and name-calling. There has been personal and collective abuse.

“And there has been widespread communication of unsubstantiated allegations and uniformed opinions”, he claimed.

“Having consulted with my fellow councillors, I believe that the best way to facilitate a fully democratically mandated parish council is for this council to resign and trigger an election.

“I therefore declare that this parish council has resigned and an election will ensue. I believe it is now time to begin the process of healing.”
 
Cllr Garman said she thought she had moved into a caring community, but now believes “we don’t live in a nice community at all”.

She said: “There’s a real divide between the older community, people that have been here a long time and feel they do everything and it’s their parish, and the people who have been here for less time but don’t get acknowledged for the benefit that they bring to the community.

“There are a group of people who aren’t happy with ‘newbies’ coming in and trying to build something.”

Danehill Parish Council website

BBC News | Posted 10th June 2016

 
Local residents had complained the council had failed to consult with them over the increase and accused the council of not having a clear plan on how the extra money could be spent.

Local residents had complained the council had failed to consult with them over the increase and accused the council of not having a clear plan on how the extra money could be spent.

The vast majority of those voting (2,133 residents) supported the vote of no confidence, with only 103 objecting to the notion.

Over 2,000 residents also called for the town council to undertake a public consultation before making any further decisions about precepts and loans.

The poll had a turnout of 27%.

The council chairman cllr Allan Matthews, said he will not stand down after the vote of no confidence as he had been elected on a four-year programme. He said the extra money will be spent on additional car parking spaces and some facilities for children.

Although the parish poll has no legal implication, local residents hope it will encourage the council to consult with them before raising council tax bills in future.

The Hereford Times | Posted 30th March 2015

 
Parish council slammed for “potentially unlawful” five figure spend on pub project

A PARISH council has been cited for “serious failings” in its governance and procedures over the purchase of a village pub as a community hub.

The Audit Commission (AC) says £34,689 spent on the refurbishment of the pub by Dilwyn parish council was “potentially unlawful” with it not being possible to trace proper payment approval.

An investigation report out this week also finds the council failed to comply with its own standing orders and financial regulations and took action without proper authorisation.

Councillors were also found to not to have made “proper” declarations of interest at meetings in which payments were made to them.

In one specific example, £6,566 excluding VAT was found to have been paid to a councillor’s heating and plumbing business for work undertaken at the pub, with “insufficient or no” declarations of interest made at meetings at which orders for required work were authorised or payments made to the councillor approved.

The investigation, carried out by Grant Thornton UK LLP on behalf of the AC, revolved around the council’s purchase of The Crown, Dilwyn, to be retained – ahead of an auction – as a community asset.

That purchase went ahead in early 2012 with the pub bought from Punch Taverns for about £250,000 for renovation and reopening.

The council used grants and a public works loan to raise the money.

In the AC report, the council concedes that proper procedures were not always followed, but offered a justification of circumstances in which “speed was of the essence” to make the project viable.

Grant Thornton, however, found this argument to be “put forward after the event” and in response to enquiries having not been recorded in council minutes as such.

Time pressure, the report says, could have been avoided with better planning and allowing for “sufficient” time for proper governance procedures to be adhered to.

In a response to the Hereford Times, the council said it was “likely” to formally accept the findings of the report in full at a meeting next Tuesday (April 7) and “guarantee” to implement all of the related recommendations – with a number already in place.

At a meeting in March 2012, the council set up a committee called The Crown Community Hub (hub committee) to deal with the purchase, renovation and leasing of The Crown.

During the meeting, guidelines for the hub committee were set out and adopted.

Concerns about the committee not keeping to the guidelines, acting outside of its delegated powers, and unlawful expenditure, were raised with the AC later that year.

In 2013, the Herefordshire Association of Local Councils (HALC) was commissioned to undertake a “detailed investigation” and prepare a report.

HALC wanted all business relating to The Crown to be conducted through the full council and the council agreed.

Between July 2013 and February 2014, the hub committee did not meet, with all business relating to The Crown being conducted by the full council.

The HALC report in February 2014 noted “serious failures” in governance and procedures and recommended all business relating to The Crown continued to be conducted through the full council.

Meeting that month, the council accepted all the HALC recommendations, except that business relating to the crown be conducted through the full council.

At that meeting, the council resolved that the hub committee be re-instated with immediate effect.

A subsequent AC investigation found a number of serious failings in governance and procedures at the council.

In failing to comply properly with its own standing orders and financial regulations, the AC found:

The investigation also found that action was taken by councillors between council and committee meetings without proper authorisation from either the council or the hub committee.

Nor did the council undertake adequate risk assessment in relation to the operation of The Crown and, as a consequence, the  pub was under insured and compensation subsequently reduced when a claim was made as a result of a chimney fire.

The report says the additional costs would normally have been borne by the council and local taxpayers, but were, instead, paid voluntary by customers of The Crown.

Also identified were “inappropriate procedures” in place for the payment of VAT with VAT due paid out of the clerk’s own personal bank account and re-claimed from the council.

Other payments were made without proper approval by the council or hub committee.

In the report, the AC identifies that in the year ended March 31 2013 the council spent £34,689 excluding VAT that was “potential unlawful”.

It had not been possible to trace approval of all of these payments to either hub committee meetings or full council meetings, the AC said.

In the AC’s view, however, there was no benefit from seeking a court declaration that the expenditure was unlawful, as the cost to the taxpayer of doing so would outweigh any potential benefits.

The council has already changed its procedures relating to VAT with all claims and payments now made through the council’s own bank account.

A number of councillors have since received training on the local government code of conduct and, following the upcoming election, it is planned that all councillors will be provided with formal induction and code of conduct training.

The council also re-adopted its exiting standing orders, financial regulations and internal controls in May last year, pending review.

But this review has not yet taken place and must do so “as soon as practicably possible” the AC says.
 
Also recommended are:

DILWYN PARISH COUNCIL REPORT – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.

Declarations of interest were a specific example the AC made in identifying failures in the governance of Dilwyn Parish Council.

The investigation found £6,566 excluding VAT was been paid to a councillor’s heating and plumbing business for work undertaken at the pub with “insufficient or no” declarations of interest made at meetings at which orders for required work were authorised, or payments made to the councillor were approved by the hub committee.

Overall, the report reveals that where declarations of interest were made, the nature of the interest was not recorded and insufficient detail given as to which councillor was making the declaration.

Councillors did not leave the room, nor were they excluded from discussions relating to the authorisation of work or approval of payments in which they had a prejudicial interest.
The council told the AC that the reason for giving work to the councillor was because this gave “best value for money” with work done by the councillors’ business charged to the council at a rate lower than cost.

However, the AC found the council was unable to demonstrate that amounts paid were reasonable and gave value for money.

The Press | Posted 31st May 2016

 
Police called amid talk of assaults and a lock-in

Villages are at loggerheads over the future of housebuilding around their homes, after a meeting descended into chaos and led to police being called.

Some residents in Earswick are fighting to block houses from being built in the greenbelt around the village, and they took their campaign to the annual parish meeting, resulting in a row that ended with police officers being called out.

Video footage of the meeting shows local resident Jacky Ridley trying to put a question to the annual parish meeting – something she had checked would be allowed under local government law – and later going on to ask for the whole village to be given a ballot on whether any greenbelt development should be included in Earswick’s neighbourhood plan.

The video shows the person filming the meeting being told to stop and refusing to do so, someone trying to block the lens, and shows parish councillors then walking out and saying they would lock the doors.

Mrs Ridley had asked for that part of the meeting to be filmed, which she believes is permitted under a law change made two year ago which allows any public meeting of a local government body to be filmed without the needing for specific permission.

But parish council chairman Derek Jones is seen on the footage telling Mrs Ridley’s husband Robert to stop filming, and closing the meeting.

Other villagers can be seen trying to stop the filming, while retired village resident Allan Charlesworth reads out local government legislation rules for annual parish meeting, which differ from parish council meetings.

Eventually the parish councillors can be seen leaving the hall, warning they will lock those left in the hall, and calling the police.

Mr Charlesworth, who then took over chairing the meeting, has written to the city council asking for the ballot to be conducted – which he says the council has to conduct by law after it was demanded at the annual parish meeting.

But the parish council itself says the meeting was not legitimate, and the way forward is now unclear. The city council’s monitoring officer is investigating complaints about some parish councillors’ behaviour, and looking into the calls for a village ballot.

In a written statement, parish councillors said the meeting, held on Monday, May 23 was disrupted by “a small minority of residents”, and said Mr Jones was right to try to stop the filming and close the meeting, which they said was done as a matter of public safety. The meeting afterwards was, they say, “a private meeting” which had no legal standing – meaning the calls for the ballot are invalid.

They have also said the parish council’s own standing orders require prior warning of filming, something that was not given, which is why filming was not permitted on Monday.

East Anglian Daily Times | Posted 17th November 2011

 
Dishonest parish council clerk walks free from court

A DISHONEST parish council clerk who lined his own pockets by stealing money and then forged documents to cover his tracks has walked free from court after being given a suspended prison sentence.

Sentencing Michael Hallatt to an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years, Judge Martin Binning said, “Your behaviour like your evidence was thoroughly dishonest.”

He said Hallatt had forged authorisations for payment and minutes of meetings and was in breach of a high level of trust that had been placed in him at Great Blakenham Parish Council.

He said that in denying the offences he had cast aspersions on other people connected with the parish council.

In addition to the suspended prison sentence Judge Binning ordered Hallatt to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work in the community.

Hallatt, 58, of Angel Lane, Woodbridge had denied two offences of theft and five offences of false accounting and was found guilty of all the offences except for one offence of false accounting.

During the trial the court heard that Hallatt began working for the parish council in November 2007 but inlate 2009 and early 2010 councillors had become suspicious about what was going on and an investigation had revealed “serious irregularities”.

It was discovered that Hallatt had set up internet banking and transferred money without the knowledge of councillors. It was also found that he had falsified minutes of council meeting and forged councillors’ signatures by “scanning” them on to documents.

The court heard that after distributing copies of the minutes to councillors and getting them signed by the chairman, Hallatt had “tampered” with them to conceal payments that were going to him.

Hallatt denied acting dishonestly and said he had always strived to improve the council’s efficiency but claimed he had been stopped from doing his job properly by councillors.

East Anglian Daily Times | Posted 30th November 2015

 
Clerk from Glemsford avoids jail over £16k fraud

A Suffolk parish council clerk who carried out a £16,000 fraud by over-ordering stationery items and selling them on the internet has walked free from court after a judge decided not to send her straight to prison.

Sara Turner, 51, who was paid £20,000 per year as Glemsford Parish Council clerk, over-ordered printer cartridges over a two-year period and sold them on Amazon for personal profit, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Turner, of Railway Cottages, Braintree, admitted one offence of fraud between September 2009 and September 2011 and was given a 22-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

She was also given a ten week electronically monitored curfew between 9pm-6am and ordered to do 200 hours’ unpaid work in the community.

Sentencing her, Judge David Goodin said Turner had lied her way through her police interview and in her defence statement before pleading guilty to the charge of fraud in October.

He said the parish council had been a “sitting duck” in relation to her “elentless dishonesty.”

Charles Myatt, prosecuting, said Turner was employed as a part time clerk for the parish council and was authorised to make purchases for up to £500.

He said over a period of two years she had over-ordered stationery items, mainly printer cartridges, to the value of £16,000. “This was far in excess of what the parish council required,” said Mr Myatt.

He said that by ordering in bulk Turner received expensive bonus gifts which were never passed on to the parish council.

He said that when an investigation was started the parish council’s finances were found to be in a “woeful state” with poor recording of items of expenditure.

Mr Myatt said some of the cartridges ordered by Turner didn’t even fit the parish council’s printers.

When the fraud was discovered Turner was suspended and large quantities of computer cartridges were found at her home. “She was selling them for personal gain on Amazon,” said Mr Myatt.

Nicola Devas for Turner said her client had no previous convictions and at the time of the offence she was in financial difficulties arising out of debts left by her second husband.

She said Turner had also been suffering from depression and health problems.

Miss Devas said the thought of a prison sentence filled Turner with dread.

After an earlier hearing, current parish council chairman Michael Brown, who joined the council just as Turner’s fraud was coming to light, said: “We have learnt lessons from this, we certainly have.

“We have made a lot of changes to how we operate. I wouldn’t say it is impossible, but it’s now nearly impossible for something like this to happen again.

“The accounts are presented to the council and anyone who walks up to the office and asks to see our financial records will get them. We are far more transparent now.”

Hereford Times | Posted 15th June 2017

 
Madley left without parish council after mass resignation.

A VILLAGE has been left without a parish council after all of its councillors and the clerk resigned.

At a meeting of Madley Parish Council last week, councillors announced that they were all handing in their resignations.

This means that ward councillors from Herefordshire Council need to temporarily perform the parish council duties, until an official parish election can take place to fill the vacancies.

Pat Corcoran, one of the parish councillors who has resigned, said: “There were some parishioners who really didn’t understand what the parish council was for.

“We were getting a series of more and more vitriolic emails and when we got the last one, last Tuesday, we just rang around in the morning and everybody said they had had enough.

“They didn’t want to do it anymore.”

In March of this year an application for a gas powered energy reserve in Stone Street, Madley was withdrawn.

The application had received a lot of objection from parishioners and Madley Parish Council also objected to the plans.

The land on which STOR 112 Ltd wanted to build the reserve belonged to the Burman family, who had representatives on the parish council.

Madley resident, Dave Williamson, said he believed councillors resigned because they found out that the landowner had offered £13,000 to a new resident to the village to make available access of his garden, so the access could be improved and the gas energy station plan could be re-submitted.

He said: “To his credit the inducement was refused obviously not wanting to become neighbour to a 20MW power station at any price.”

But Mr Corcoran said the parish councillor was perfectly entitled to make an offer to one of the landowners to get an access strip and he is also entitled to submit a planning application.

As a parish council they are able to send a letter of support, objection or make no comment on planning applications and Mr Corcoran said when the first plan was submitted and discussed at a parish council meeting, the landowner and parish councillor declared an interest and left the room. He did not take part in any of the discussions.

Mr Corcoran said the parish council has very limited powers and only deals with fairly parochial items. He said: “We are volunteers. Several people had the wrong end of the stick about what we are able to do. We are not Herefordshire Council, we are not the planning authority, we are not Balfour Beatty, we are not the Highways Authority.

“We can only write to people and ask them to do things. We were getting personal abuse, including the clerk.”

He said the objection from the parish council is seen as one single letter and holds the same weight as a letter from anyone and the final decision is down to the county council planning authority.

Western Daily Press | Posted 5th August 2011

Somerset parish councillor gets banned for bad behaviour

A parish councillor has been banned from an historic community building except for parish, because of her alleged abusive behaviour.

Several members of the public turned up to a meeting of Martock Parish Council, near Yeovil, Somerset this week to complain about the behaviour of Councillor Jenny Hulme-At this.

They said Mrs Hulme-Atthis had been harassing people in the shopping precinct to sign a petition against Tesco coming to the village. She was also accused of upsetting volunteers at the Market House’s information centre when taking leaflets.

The parish council holds its meetings in the building.

Councillor Christopher Bell said: “She has been abusive to our volunteers, swearing at members of the public and trying to bring the parish council into disrepute.”

Parish clerk Ian Andrews said he had received three complaints about Mrs Hulme-Atthis.

Mrs Hulme-Atthis arrived late as councillors were discussing the council’s code of conduct, was informed of the complaints against her and given the opportunity to respond.

She said: “I don’t like gossip, innuendo and threats. You expect me to defend myself against people who are not saying things to my face” and said she had been the victim of abusive behaviour from the parish council.

Chairman Roger Powell told her: “Your behaviour has shown a disregard for this code of conduct.

“If you persistently bring the council into disrepute you can be asked to leave the meeting.”

She was excluded from the meeting and left after telling the chairman: “Please be aware of your legal standing because I have done nothing illegal.”

The council then banned her from the Market House except for attending parish council meetings, to protect the information centre volunteers.

Hertfordshire Mercury | Posted: June 25, 2013

Councillors face rebuke over bad behaviour

SERVING and former parish councillors from Nazeing have been censured over “offensive” behaviour by a council watchdog.

Cllr Ed Culling (Ind, Riverside) and former councillor Janice May faced Epping Forest’s joint standards committee over remarks made during a stormy meeting in September last year.

Police were called to intervene in a confrontation between 50 members of the public and the parish council over the district local plan consultation, which outlines where new housing developments will be located.

The committee found that Mrs May and Cllr Culling both “supported offensive comments made about members of the parish council by members of the public” during the meeting.

Mrs May was also found to have “made rude remarks to a fellow parish councillor” and “used threatening words/behaviour towards a fellow parish councillor”.

Cllr Culling was also censured for actions earlier in the month.

The standards committee reported: “At the Nazeing Festival on 8 September 2012, Cllr Culling gave out misleading information relating to the local plan process leading to residents becoming angry and upset; and that Cllr Culling swore at and showed a lack of respect to Robert Halfon MP, and that his conduct breached the members’ code of conduct.”

The complaints arose following correspondence received from parish councillors Chris Shorter (Ind, Nazeingbury), Gloria Skipper (Ind, Riverside) and Epping Forest district councillor Yolanda Knight (Con, Lower Nazeing).

The standards committee found: “That Councillor Edward Culling conducted himself in a manner which falls below the standard expected of a person in public office.

“Councillors are expected to consider their actions and words, and how they may be perceived by their colleagues and members of the public.

“The joint standards committee hereby censures Councillor Culling on these grounds.

This censure in no way reflects on Nazeing Parish Council.”
Mrs May, who stood down from the parish council earlier this year, received the same rebuke.

Its findings must formally be reported to Nazeing Parish Council and Epping Forest District Council, and displayed on their notice boards and websites.

Nazeing Parish Council is next due to meet later this evening.

BBC News | Posted 25th September 2009

Jeremy Baker had denied taking two bribes totalling £750

A former Portsmouth city councillor has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of accepting a bribe.

Jeremy Baker, 47, from Cosham, was convicted of accepting £500 for making sure a planning decision for a property developer got through.

A secret film of the incident was shown to jurors at Winchester Crown Court during Baker’s trial.

He was convicted of a corruption charge but cleared of another. They related to his time on the planning committee.

Estate agent David Maunder made the recording in an agreement with a property developer who felt he was poorly treated by planners, jurors were told.

The developer felt aggrieved about the planning committee’s dealings over his three properties in London Road, St Helens Parade and Kingston Parade, the court heard.

On one occasion, Mr Maunder said to Baker, “right I’ve got a little something for you” before counting £500 out on the table, jurors were told.

Baker, who was cleared of taking a £250 bribe, was jailed for a year on Thursday.

The Northern Echo | Posted 5th March 2017

Potto Parish Council under fire over finances

A PARISH council has come under fire for hiking its tax precept by more than 30 per cent – the second such tax rise after covering the cost of an audit investigation into its dealings.

Potto Parish Council, which covers approximately 115 households in the parish near Stokesley, has been criticised for increasing its precept by 35 per cent for its 2017/18 budget, raising it from £5,000 to £6,750 for the coming year.

It comes after the small council voted to impose a 42 per cent increase in its 2015/16 budget following an extensive investigation by auditors into allegations it was failing to comply with its regulatory requirements and legislation.

The small council had to spend £5,300 on the audit investigation into its 2014/15 annual return, following a complaint by a local resident. It resulted in an 18 month investigation by auditors PKF Littlejohn, which concluded in a report that the parish council was failing to adhere to local government rules on meetings, meaning decisions made in meetings have been “unlawful”.

The auditors’ report stated that the parish council failed to issue agendas on time to councillors on several occasions during 2014/15, breaching rules which require councillors to receive an agenda and papers at least three days before a meeting.

It stated: “Potentially this means that electors may have been denied a proper opportunity to input on council business. We also note that the meeting time is generally not shown on the agendas.”

It stated that as this did not comply with legislation, any council decisions at meetings may have been “unlawful”.

It also noted there had been errors in accounting statements included in the annual return for cancelled cheques, grants received and petty cash balances.

One villager, who did not wish to be named, also criticised a decision to increase the parish council clerk’s pay from about £500 per annum in September 2011, to £1,200 this year.

He said Potto Parish Council’s precept was £2,500 in 2011, which went up to £5,000 in 2016/17 and this year has been set on £6,750.

He said: “The precept for 2017/18 is £6,750 to be paid by approximately 110 households. As a percentage that’s completely out of control.”

But the parish council said its budget was spent mostly on improving facilities and the environment in the small village.

Chairman of the parish council, Andy Wilde said: “A member of the public put in an objection against the annual accounts when we submitted them. If they do that they have to be investigated by the external auditor and we’re liable to foot the bill. In 2015/16 the precept was increased from £3,500 to £5,000 for that year, but that was for a major project to improve the road to the village hall and improve access.

“We have ongoing projects to replace stiles with gates and improve footpaths – we just try and improve the parish for everybody because we’re only volunteers at the end of the day.

He added: “We took note of what the auditor said. On one or two occasions the agendas were supposed to be out prior to the meeting taking place, but our internet was down and that threw a spanner in the works.”

Newbury Today | Posted 6th April 2016

Stratfield Mortimer councillor reprimanded for his actions after independent investigation

AN independent investigation has ruled that a parish councillor “bullied and intimidated” members of his own council by making a number of “unsubstantiated claims” about them.

The investigation into the behaviour of Stratfield Mortimer councillor Christopher Lewis considered that he had breached the code of conduct last year.

Solicitor Liz Howlett, who conducted the investigation, concluded that Mr Lewis had “threatened” both the parish council’s clerk and chairman over “unjustified allegations” of criminal behaviour, failure to follow procedure and claims of financial mismanagement.

But in response to Ms Howlett’s report, Mr Lewis contested just about all of her findings – and still maintained that taxpayers’ money was not being spent correctly – despite council accounts for 2014/15 being signed off by an auditor.

According to the solicitor’s report, Mr Lewis was unhappy that the council’s clerk had granted one of the councillors permission to vote on whether to award West Berkshire Council a sum of money towards the Superfast Broadband project.

Mr Lewis said the councillor, who works for BT, should have declared an interest in the item and that the clerk, by allowing him to vote, had acted illegally.

However, the independent investigation questioned whether an interest would have to be declared as the money was going to West Berkshire Council rather than BT.

He also claimed the clerk’s sick pay and pension payments were not in line with financial regulations – something the council denies.

The investigation centred around two letters that Mr Lewis sent to the parish council’s chairman and clerk on July 10 and July 12 last year.

In the letters, Mr Lewis threatens to “go to the auditors” if the situation is not resolved to his satisfaction.

In the first letter to the chairman, Mr Lewis says: “Either both you and Julian can work together with me in a mature manner or alternatively I will raise controversial items and write critical letters to auditors.

“We have the summer break in front of us, the choice of yours.”

The investigators report said: “The tone and language used by Councillor Lewis is the issue here together with the persistent and relentless stream of communication which, in my opinion, does amount to bullying.”

It adds: “Councillor Lewis tends not to ascertain the facts before making allegations of criminal behaviour.

“People are upset by his tone and they do become worn down by his constant barrage of questions.”

West Berkshire Council’s Governance and Ethics Committee heard from all parties involved at a meeting on Monday, March 14.

The committee accepted the findings of the investigator that Mr Lewis was not motivated by bad faith, and that he believed he was acting in the public interest.

However, it did agree that he had breached the code of conduct.

A letter will be sent to Mr Lewis advising that he needs to reflect on the tone of his letters.

Stratfield Mortimer Parish Council website