Almost a year ago I was criticised by the Leader of the Council for suggesting that the County's £2m proposed new grant to NEP had little to do with economic development but more to do with saving a few red faces at County Hall, because without the £2m grant and having lost its other regional grants from the government office East Midlands NEL could have gone bust, leaving the Council a very heavy financial liability in potential pension payouts. Utter nonsense they all cried at the time.
And yet yesterday at the County Council full budget meeting the section 151 officer (Council bean counter) finally agreed with me! Both the Lib Dem and Labour alternative budgets proposed the scrapping of this over generous grant, particularly at a time when council staff are being thrown on the dole, streets lights have been switched off and PCSO's are being cut due to the continued savage cuts on Local Government spending. So in response to Labours' proposals the 151 officers report confirmed beyond doubt that without the Councils grant then the organisation could fold and the pension cost to the council (which last year they told us wasn't a problem) would be now be considerable! Perhaps it is only a problem when the opposition propose it?
As you would expect yesterday I supported both opposition motions, after all, I am sure we could all suggest better ways in which that money could be spent, after all what exactly does NEP do? Well for a start they have nothing to do with the £200m Northampton Enterprise Zone, government cash for that initiative was secured by SEMLEP (South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) Nor are they responsible for the £25m redevelopment plan for Northampton's Castle Station that is being led by the soon to be no more WNDC (West Northamptonshire Development Corporation) The Grovesnor Centre expansion and new bus interchange? No that's NBC (Northampton Borough Council) and L&G (Legal and General) So what exactly do NEP do with our money? Well there is that Brussels office they run of course to the estimated tune of £300,000 a year, and a look at their 2010 accounts (then as NEL) shows that over 50% of their income is spent on administration! Not much left for driving the local economy then?
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| Palais de Festival |
Jim got very angry at this and informed the Council that NEP had never been there (Well they couldn't have done as this years event is in March 2012 and they only changed their name at companies house from NEL to NEP last June)
He went on to tell the Council that I had initially not even mentioned NEL in my speech even though I used the words "NEL and NEP" in my opening statement. He said that NEL was a "separate" "independent body"to NEP even though Companies House shows clearly that Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership's date of corporation to be the 26th January 2006! and records the name change from NEL to NEP on the 1st June 2011. Two separate bodies? or just the same one? and who sat on the board of this company prior to and after the name change? You guessed it one Jim Harker.
Now gentleman Jim was keen to dismiss my concerns as "scurrilous" rumours, he told the Council that he knew of no case of NEP officers going to Cannes, technically correct, if we give him the benefit of doubt that the same officers went as officers of NEL even though they are one and the same. He also said that as far as he was aware NEL never went in it's penultimate year? would that be 2010? or 2009?
Either or really because amongst my scurrilous rumours were the details I gave about the event in 2009 where guests attended a lunch to hear Kevin Mcloud from Channel 4's "Grand Designs" talk about sustainable housing details of which are here in investnorthamptonshire 2010 MIPIM web contribution http://mipim.investnorthamptonshire.co.uk/contact-us helpfully listing the names of the officers of NEL who never attended (all 8 of them)? They tell us where they can be contacted here at the Palais De Festival where the Cannes International Film Festival vies with MIPIM for floorspace http://www.palaisdesfestivals.com/sommaire.php3?lang=en or even better here at the La Mandala http://www.plage-lamandala.com/
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| La Mandala |
As well as flights and hotel bills and swanky luncheons we can even wonder at the additional cost to NEL of the 2009 "communications strategy using digital marketing techniques including a specially designed microsite, video and email campaign and the integrated use of these digital communication tools" as provided to NEL by Ferrier Pierce Creative Group here http://www.ferrierpearce.com/portfolio/projects/47-Northamptonshire-Enterprise-Limited/
Now I had also been informed by a whistle blower in NEL/NEP that a cabinet or cabinet members had on occasion/s flew out to participate in the proceedings, I asked Jim about this and he said he personally never has done and that he knows of no other cabinet member who has done so.
So let me be clear and fair. I am happy to take him at his word on that score and hope my informer can correct the impression they gave, if they do I will gladly inform Council of that fact and apologise for any wrong information given. But do I care who exactly went on this annual works outing? No not one bit, but I do care that at a time when services are being cut to the bone and when we can't even afford to turn on the street lights that we are giving £2m to a repetitious unnecessary Quango for them to spend half of it on running their administration and part of it on offices in Brussels and annual trips to Cannes on the French Riviera.
And if we can get ourselves all worked up, rightly so about that "£3000 painting" celebrating Tory Chair Rosemary Bromwich's year as Council Chair, then what are we to make of many more thousands of pounds of Council tax payers money being used to support what even the Financial Times describes as a "famously excessive" "Jamboree" They also got it spot on about local council's though when they said in their pink paper that:
Did you follow the live webcast where "Twee David" avoided answering difficult questions about Greyfriars bus station. The Chronicle & Echo moderators' toadying to the Conservative puppet leader was nauseating. A politically unbiased local newspaper? They should replace the "Northampton" in "Northampton Chronicle & Echo" with "Conservative".
ReplyDeleteThe important questions over the Grovesnor/Greyfriars issue are How much land did you sell to L&G and for what price? Have you also sold the Mayorhold car park? and What guarantees have you got that after you have bent over backwards for L&G that they will deliver what you are expecting? Some of the questioners attempted some of the above, but of course none were answered.
ReplyDeleteTony, you are worthy, thanks for your commitment in bringing all this out. By the way, the painting cost nearer to £6000, I have contacts.
ReplyDeleteGary
Tony
ReplyDeleteIf you run a company, you will know that the simplest and easiest way to reduce expenditure in a downturn is to slash the marketing budget and rein in R&D.It's also the most short sighted and damaging thing a well run operation can do.A short term gain which assures short term survival.Just that and no more.While medium and longer term the chances of the enterprise prospering are blighted.
I for one will not see NCC short change the people, especially the young people of Northamptonshire, whose future job prospects we should be championing, by picking off a convenient "low hanging fruit" (the marketing budget) in the form of our withdrawing our support of NEP.And here I am going onto the offensive.Because following your earlier criticism of NEP/NEL and the pension issue,where we crossed swords in the Council chamber,I was adamant that we take an in depth look at NEP during the 2012/13 Budget scrutiny period.And this we did.I want the truth.I want facts.I want accountability.I want answers to my questions.But what do you want - apart from grandstanding and grabbing a few cheers from the gallery? Where were you?
With the support of Cllr.Chris Long,the Finance & performance Scrutiny Chairman,we had not one but two lengthy sessions in County Hall with Paul Southwood and Rob Purdie and another female Board member.Once for 2 hours in Room 28 and a further 2 hour slot in the Council Chamber.Councillors had every opportunity to raise whatever they wanted with the key people - who were there to face up directly to the sort of criticisms you chose to raise as it were "behind their backs" in the Budget debate.So,Tony, I am not impressed with the way you have gone about voicing your criticisms.Why did you not turn up to face your quarry,to fire your bullets straight at them - but equally allow them to defend themselves and fire straight back at you. Was it because you feared that they would have the answers at their finger tips, facts and figures, to defend themselves - facts that Jim Harker didn't have when you fired off your bullets in the Council chamber?
You weren't alone.No Chris Stanbrough,no Mark Bullock at the Scrutiny sessions asking the questions.No, you chose the easy way to play to the gallery.Launch your missiles when you were in no danger of getting your own head blown off with a few candid answers, which probably didn't suit your script.Why let the facts, why let defense testimony get in the way of an easy headline?
I wasn't impressed,Tony.As a former Parliamentarian, you should be prepared to turn up at Backbench committees and submit all and sundry, from Rupert Murdoch to Fred the Shred, to forensic scrutiny.But in the case of the guys from NEP you ran a mile.
Michael Clarke
Micheal, Let me try and answer your concerns calmly, I didn't turn up to the scrutiny sessions with NEP because no one informed me that they were happening. Although I do have to say that turning up at any County Council meetings has become more and more pointless by the day as the Tory group continue to dismantle Local Government and take more and more decision either behind closed doors pre cabinet or allow officers to take them for them through delegated powers.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you wholeheartedly about the need to keep marketing and R&D budgets alive during hard times but NEP is an add on,and an expensive one, we already have SEMLEP, WNDC, NNDC and the District Councils doing more than enough to promote Northamptonshire, all of them falling over themselves to claim the credit for the handful of jobs they have created with the millions they have been given without one ounce of clear evidence that those jobs would not have been created naturally without their input.
Secondly I would love to question Paul Southworth (not Southwood) and Rob Purdie and allow them to defend themselves and or NEP as I don't take this matters personally but unfortunately NEP refuse to hold their meetings in public and decide how they spend the money we have gifted to them in private sessions behind closed doors.
Thirdly How can you or anyone else defend a 50% expenditure of their annual budget on administration costs? Any other business publishing such figure would be laughed at.
And even if I agreed with NEP/NEL being present at MIPIM in Canne every year then why do they need to send 8 staff and book two stands and wine and dine guests at beachfront restuarants? why do they have to have expensive media firms from London videoing these events at which they have hired TV stars such as Kevin McCloud to preside over?
Finally, you stand up for poor old Jim, not having the answers to my questions in the Council Chamber? Have you convieniently forgotton as he seem to do that Jim is actually one of the Council's representative on the board of NEL/NEP? Which made it all the more astounding when he told the Council that he didn't even think NEL had attended Canne in its penultimate year 2009 (where their spend was at a new high) How come he didn't know? He sat on the board which agreed the expenditure as he has done in every other year?
I raise these issues Michael, because it is important for them to be raised, and despite your cosy sessions in scrutiny, their is a whole lot more to come out yet, much of it a lot more damaging than the above.
When it does, you might just want to reflect on your comments, and wonder why you never discovered any of it in your 4 hours sessions in scrutiny?