Council boundary changes are welcome news.

The proposals by the Local Government Boundary Commission to reduce the number of councillors on the island by 25% has finally been accepted by the existing Councillors.

This is welcome news, as I have for some time been of the opinion that multi member wards was the way forward for the islands Council  i.e see  Ynys Môn - Review of electorate arrangements – Local Government.

In the past the perception was that  if you upset the local councillor, things could be made difficult for you - so to speak. Sometimes wards were ruled over by shall we say long standing councillors whom got elected by default 'cause no one else stood against them, and if you where not in their gang tough....

At next years election at least there will be a choice, and following the election a choice of 3 Councillors from whom to seek help.

Having said that I'm still of the opinion there we have far too many councils in Wales, and that we should reduce the number - as I have said in the past bring back the old Gwynedd County Council -  Merger – odds on favourite.

Education on the island.

A recent Estyn report on the quality of local authority education services for children and young people in Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn concluded:

Overall judgement: Unsatisfactory

The local authority’s education services for children and young people are unsatisfactory because:

• standards for children and young people are below what could be expected at all key stages;
• attendance rates in secondary schools are unacceptably low;
• the school improvement service is inadequate
• not enough progress has been made in planning for school places;
• operational leadership in the delivery of education has not driven improvements in areas of under performance and schools and officers have not been held to account; and
• business planning and risk-assessment processes have not been robust enough to identify and address the slow pace of progress in education services and schools.

Capacity to improve: Unsatisfactory

The local authority has unsatisfactory prospects for improvement because:

• there has been long-term under performance at service level;
• the pace of action to bring about improvement has been too slow in the past to assure inspectors that improvement can follow this inspection without external challenge;
• self-evaluation processes have been patchy and progress against recommendations made in previous inspections has been limited;
• school leaders have not been held to account; and
• service level lines of accountability are unclear.

There is only one thing you can say - it's another damning indictment of the piss poor leadership the Councillors of the island have given us. I for one think that since power was taken away from the under performing councillors things have actually started to improve at the council. It's less me me, and more about us.

Want more evidence as to the lack of leadership - Mike Barton in his report to review the future management strategy of property assets says:

An ongoing programme of revisions to condition surveys indicates a worsening situation with regard to building conditions and the maintenance required to retain premises in good order.. .. And...

No budget allocation is available to cover other categories of maintenance, for example painting and decorating.

Yes 'what the fuck' indeed, oh and don't forget that many of these so called Councillors are Governors as well, and that many of them are still prancing around as if this had nothing to do with them.

I think Councillor McGregor got it right, when he said this morning that this was another nail in the coffin of Ynys Môn Council.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the next logical step is a merger with Gwynedd County Council and possibly others, as we were in the good old days, when someone standing as councillor did so for the benefit of the community and not as it now seems to gain advantage for themselves and friends.

Mr Sargeant - please don't forget the public.

In September,  Councillors of Ynys Môn Council may be given back the key to the executive chamber, and over a phased time period have power returned to them. You can read a transcript of Carl Sargeant, Minister for Local Government and Communities statement in  Paul Williams Druids Revenge blog.

Carl Sargeant, the Commissioners and the Audit Commission whilst not totally convinced that the problems of past "misbehavior, under-performance and petty squabbling" would not return, have concluded "there are no longer any serious risks."

I suspect though that the ratepayers of Ynys Môn will be far less optimistic as to the likelihood of good behavior continuing within the ranks of the islands Councillors.

And that in once sense is a problem with this process, is a feeling that nobody has really bothered to ask the ratepayers what they thought, what they wanted. Nor has anyone; it seems, asked how can we bring the ratepayers back on board and interested in the real issues that affect the island, and how through the democratic process can their concerns can be satisfactorily addressed.

Don't get me wrong in many ways a lot has been achieved since the Commissioners have been 'running the council' on behalf of Carl Sargeant. Procedures have been updated to improve the governance of the Council, and steps have been taken to ensure that the Council has in place a strong management team, which is something the Audit Commission has long identified as a weakness.

Then there is the decision of Carl Sargeant to change the island election boundaries for councillors to multi member wards, similar to what occurs in Scotland. I think it's a very good idea, and would urge Carl Sargeant, if he can to go further and adopt  Single Transferable Vote (STV) as a method of electing Councillors, again as they do in Scotland.

I would urge also the main political parties on the island to set aside their differences and work together on how they can encourage greater participation in the politics of the island. I seem to recall that there where moves made last year to this end, but have read little about it since.

I also read somewhere that there was a growing call within the Conservative Party to look at how candidates where selected, and whether the process could be widened so that a greater; shall we say, diversity of candidates be put forward, and not from a narrow pool of what may be portrayed as stereotypically candidates from any of the main political parties.

In terms of multi member wards one concern as expressed by Paul Williams is that it will make it harder for independent councillors to be elected, due to the size of the wards and lack of resources by independent candidates to canvass such wards. Can I make a suggestion that as part of the election process the Council could send out to all ratepayers a leaflet saying whom is standing in their ward, within which each candidate would be allowed; within limits, an opportunity to spell out why they should be elected as Councillor for that ward.

Which brings me neatly onto independent councillors, and a commonly asked question - Are independent councillors really Conservatives in disguise?

Interestingly the Political Studies Association in April also asked that question in respect of Councillors in England, and you can read their working draft by following this link - Independent Councillors.

Which sort of, in conclusion to the question -Are independent councillors really Conservatives in disguise? says  - No, but lots of them are.

Now there are many reasons why you would stand as a independent councillor - you may not have a great allegiance with any of the main political parties, or although you may support a political party you may have fallen out with the local party on a specific issue, or you may have been excluded from standing in the name of the local party for various reasons.

Of course one of the problems you have with independent councillors is in the most a lack of a manifesto, from which they can claim a mandate or on which the electorate can judge whether they have kept promises made.

There is also a lack of party discipline and or support, not that this means no good independent Councillors exist. But if you do have allegiances if not with the main political parties, maybe you should follow the lead of Llais Gwynedd, who formed their own party rather than some confusing case of being independent but yet being part of a group of Councillors with similar views and not therefore strictly speaking independent at all.

As to whether following next years council elections the long term future of Ynys Môn Council is secure may be academic, as I have said before there are far too many Council in Wales, and when the time is right a merger with Gwynedd and possibly Conwy is definitely on the political horizon. 

Ynys Môn council tax - some context.

The Commissioners, whom manage Cyngor Ynys Môn on behalf of Carl Sargeant; Minister for Social Justice & Local Government, and the shadow executive have agreed to recommend to the full council that the council element of the Council Tax should next financial year increase by 4.5% (or less than a £1 each week for average Band D).

The final decision will be made by the Full Council 3 March 2011.

But before we start jumping up and down I think it's worth putting this in some sort of context.

Click on image to enlarge

This financial year (2010-2011) as can be seen from the above chart (showing average Band D rates for Wales) from the Welsh Assembly, Cyngor Ynys Môn had a council tax well below the national average, and the 5th lowest council tax in Wales.

We also need to look back at previous increases in council tax.

Then there are specific concerns that Cyngor Ynys Môn need to address:

1. The need to find efficiency savings of £10 million over the next few years
2. The need to improve the corporate center of the council
3. Previous under investment in education on the island
4. Local concerns such as a desire to keep swimming pools open as well as local conveniences.
5. A reduced revenue support grant.

And you can't forget that the Commissioners are here to sort out the mess left by years of political discourse and political infighting.

If we want good council services we need to pay for them, and sometimes that means paying more. It seems for the next few years as the Council gets to grip with previous overspends and poor leadership Council tax may need to raise year on year.

You could argue that the Welsh Assembly should pay for these increases through the revenue support grant, but then again the Welsh Assembly itself has less monies to spend and other priorities. We are in an age of austerity after all.

I find it strange that some in the Welsh Conservatives complain that in Wales we spend less per child on education than England, but when it's proposed too increase spending on education on the island they complain again.

Ynys Môn Conservatives it seems, think the proposed increase in the council element of the Council tax is far too high, preferring instead maybe greater cuts to the Councils' budget, making more Council workers jobless and the of closing swimming baths. As Conservative Cllr Goronwy Parry once famously said the children can always learn to swim in the sea.

It's a fine balancing act, Cyngor Ynys Môn percentage increase in the council element of the Council Tax may be highest in Wales (you cannot compare with England they have a different revenue grant system), but I for one think the Commissioners have got it right. 

And the Council tax will still be below the national average.

At last - Goodbye Anglesey County Council

Not many of us will weep the passing of the failed Anglesey County Council.

Failed on a political front that is, with the so-called Councillors of the island having failed abysmally to provide effective government.

Soon we shall find out the fate that awaits the Council, hopefully the Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant shall end our pain quickly.

This blog fully supports his actions as the people of Anglesey have had enough.

We the people of Anglesey, have for the last twenty years endured grown men who claimed to be Councillors behaving like children - pathetic, incredible and unbelievable!

P.S The Conservatives and their friends the Liberal Democrats claimed today in the National Assembly for Wales debate on the Local Government Order 2011 that they did not understand what 'effective' local government meant - my suggestion why haven’t they visited Anglesey and soon they would have found out what a failing and ineffective local government was really like.