Hot on the heels of yesterdays blog outlining the lengths some will go to undermine the role of democratically elected Councillors, today's blog outlines an equally worrying attempt by the officer class to silence the elected voices.
This time take a bow J*** S*******, Parking Investigation Team Leader at Northamptonshire County Council.
I have exchanged many an email with J*** and her predecessors over the years in defence of my constituents. In fact over a period of 10 years plus as a local Councillor and 8 years as an MP I must have dealt with 100's if not 1000's of complaints regarding wrongly issued parking tickets and over zealous parking wardens.
My latest case involves a nice guy who lives in a residents permit parking scheme who was ticketed for not displaying his permit. He puts it at the top of his windscreen, the parking warden not seeing it, ticketed him and took a pretty poor photo which proved nothing. My constituent having failed to get any sense from the system and a refusal to withdraw the ticket came to me for help.
I respectfully pointed out to Parking Services that the guy had a permit, had paid for it, it is registered on the system and that the Councils evidence was inconclusive, so would they please consider withdrawing the ticket.
It's called "Representation" you can find a broader understanding of the concept within the "Representation of the People Act 2000"
But J*** quoted a different act to me when answering my enquiry. She told me:
"Unfortunately we are unable to process the request you have made on behalf of your constituent, as the Traffic Management Act 2004 clearly states that "elected members and unauthorised staff should not, under any circumstances, play a part in deciding the outcome of individual challenges or representations"
She then tried to tell me that should my constituent have any queries then he should contact Parking Services himself!
Do they think I was born yesterday? Do they really think I can be silenced? The change in the law in 2004 simply made it clear that Councillors had no magic bullet to cancel a ticket, and that they cannot instruct the Council to do so. It wasn't a charter for officers to be able to silence local councillors and deny residents proper representation
I responded to her and to the Chief Executive of the Council pointing out to them that I had no intention of "playing a part in deciding the outcome" that is for her and her team to do, but no one was going to stop me representing my constituents and standing up for them if I believe the Council has acted wrongly
My very duty as a Councillor is to represent my constituents, and to ensure they get fair play, and to ensure that the Council on to which I am elected has a fair system in place for dealing with such complaints.
It is up to my constituents to ask me if they wish me to represent them and put their case. It is up to me to offer whatever advice I wish back to them.
But when I get obstructive, over officious responses back to me as an elected member from an officer who should know better, then as I did yesterday I really start to question whether or not any democratic accountability is left within our system of local governance.
Some of you may remember last year when the County Council tried to raise the costs of residents permits in Northampton from £25 for a residents and Visitors permit to £60 for what is already an appalling service. The Council were shamed into withdrawing their plans and under the then portfolio holder Cllr Bob Seary they promised a review of the scheme?
So what happened to it?
Perhaps if the Council don't like me representing individually the people who elected me, then I should simply ask all the people within the scheme area and in other schemes in the town to individually write in a formal complaint to the Council asking them where the review they have been promised has got to?
We could then if not satisfied with their answer all take up individual cases with the Local Government Ombudsman to enquire as to whether the Council are administrating the scheme correctly and fairly?
Perhaps we could ask why their staff have only a selective knowledge of the 2004 Act and why they are suggesting Councillors cannot represent their constituents or act on their behalf?
I am so angry and so incensed by this attempt to silence an elected member that I am now even more determined to represent constituents with such cases. So if you have been given a ticket in Castle Ward get in touch, I will be more than happy to fight your corner. I can't take the decision to squash the ticket, that is clearly not within my power, but I will not be told who I can and cannot represent and how I can or cannot represent them.
I will not be silenced.
This time take a bow J*** S*******, Parking Investigation Team Leader at Northamptonshire County Council.
I have exchanged many an email with J*** and her predecessors over the years in defence of my constituents. In fact over a period of 10 years plus as a local Councillor and 8 years as an MP I must have dealt with 100's if not 1000's of complaints regarding wrongly issued parking tickets and over zealous parking wardens.
My latest case involves a nice guy who lives in a residents permit parking scheme who was ticketed for not displaying his permit. He puts it at the top of his windscreen, the parking warden not seeing it, ticketed him and took a pretty poor photo which proved nothing. My constituent having failed to get any sense from the system and a refusal to withdraw the ticket came to me for help.
I respectfully pointed out to Parking Services that the guy had a permit, had paid for it, it is registered on the system and that the Councils evidence was inconclusive, so would they please consider withdrawing the ticket.
It's called "Representation" you can find a broader understanding of the concept within the "Representation of the People Act 2000"
But J*** quoted a different act to me when answering my enquiry. She told me:
"Unfortunately we are unable to process the request you have made on behalf of your constituent, as the Traffic Management Act 2004 clearly states that "elected members and unauthorised staff should not, under any circumstances, play a part in deciding the outcome of individual challenges or representations"
She then tried to tell me that should my constituent have any queries then he should contact Parking Services himself!Do they think I was born yesterday? Do they really think I can be silenced? The change in the law in 2004 simply made it clear that Councillors had no magic bullet to cancel a ticket, and that they cannot instruct the Council to do so. It wasn't a charter for officers to be able to silence local councillors and deny residents proper representation
I responded to her and to the Chief Executive of the Council pointing out to them that I had no intention of "playing a part in deciding the outcome" that is for her and her team to do, but no one was going to stop me representing my constituents and standing up for them if I believe the Council has acted wrongly
My very duty as a Councillor is to represent my constituents, and to ensure they get fair play, and to ensure that the Council on to which I am elected has a fair system in place for dealing with such complaints.
It is up to my constituents to ask me if they wish me to represent them and put their case. It is up to me to offer whatever advice I wish back to them.
But when I get obstructive, over officious responses back to me as an elected member from an officer who should know better, then as I did yesterday I really start to question whether or not any democratic accountability is left within our system of local governance.
Some of you may remember last year when the County Council tried to raise the costs of residents permits in Northampton from £25 for a residents and Visitors permit to £60 for what is already an appalling service. The Council were shamed into withdrawing their plans and under the then portfolio holder Cllr Bob Seary they promised a review of the scheme?
So what happened to it?
Perhaps if the Council don't like me representing individually the people who elected me, then I should simply ask all the people within the scheme area and in other schemes in the town to individually write in a formal complaint to the Council asking them where the review they have been promised has got to?
We could then if not satisfied with their answer all take up individual cases with the Local Government Ombudsman to enquire as to whether the Council are administrating the scheme correctly and fairly?
Perhaps we could ask why their staff have only a selective knowledge of the 2004 Act and why they are suggesting Councillors cannot represent their constituents or act on their behalf?
I am so angry and so incensed by this attempt to silence an elected member that I am now even more determined to represent constituents with such cases. So if you have been given a ticket in Castle Ward get in touch, I will be more than happy to fight your corner. I can't take the decision to squash the ticket, that is clearly not within my power, but I will not be told who I can and cannot represent and how I can or cannot represent them.
I will not be silenced.
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