Leadership
It is starting to get difficult not to repeat what I said
last year; things are not getting any easier. If anything things only seem to
get worse but that only makes the reason for being here all the more important.
It has always been frustrating that the vast majority of the
public have little idea of how the council spends its money, or how it raises
its money. This is aggravated by common belief in conspiracy theories that
seems all too prevalent nowadays. Recent statements by a Government Minister
that we should not listen to experts add to the problem. I pose a question to
illustrate this fallacy; If you needed brain surgery, who would you feel
happier performing the task, someone who had 5 years at University, 20 years of
experience and has done the operation 100s of times already, or a guy from down
the road who has borrowed a “Do it Yourself, Haynes Manual” from the Library.
I know it is my report but being leader I could only achieve
anything through Cabinet Members;
Cathy Scott who has taken the Housing portfolio and
made it a Home’s portfolio, advancing our strategy to create an organisation
that delivers on all fronts. Steering the merger of Building Services and KNH,
working with all involved to see a smooth transition into a service we could be
proud of. Ensuring our strategy for creating more homes of all tenures,
particularly homes that people can afford, she has also co-operated with other
Cabinet members in our wider agenda and played a full role in developing the
policies that keep people safe and tackling inequality.
Steve Hall who rose to the challenge to sort out
a failing (as far as members were involved) planning control system, a
thankless yet vital task in that very few members of the public understand the
system and fewer still understand how vital development is for the future of
the council and how much some perverse decisions were costing us. He also saw
through massive changes in the Place Directorate, a department hit
proportionally hardest by the cuts. Steve was tackling the costs of road
maintenance and was keen to see us delivering more with less.
Graham Turner who took on one of the most diverse and
challenging roles in the Cabinet, that of Resources. A title that does not
reflect the importance of the task, hard enough in normal times, but dam near
impossible in Interesting Times. Not only do we have to keep an eye on council
finances but managing incredible levels of “downsizing” including asset
transfers, demanding hours and hours of patient negotiations. The Resources
role touches nearly every aspect of the council, the very survival of the
council is dependent on steering a financial plan, on making unpopular and
tough decisions when required, and sticking to them.
Erin Hill who is probably the youngest cabinet
member Kirklees has ever had, but it does not show. Before joining the Cabinet
she had taken on a “shaky” licencing committee, steering it towards being more
aware of current problems, the way she tackled this entrenched committee
demonstrated her ability to be an excellent cabinet member. She was much more
than a Breath of Fresh Air to children’s services at probably the most
difficult of times for the service with all the failings reported from other
authorities. She demonstrated an ability to absorb large amounts of information
and translate the guidance into action. The unexpected problems that arose were
being tackled with great skill and we all were confident of her steering the
department into a successful future.
Viv Kendrick, it is very difficult to comprehend
that Viv is only one person. It would be very difficult for anyone to
comprehend the changes to adult social services, the move to “New Council” let
alone to steer them to success, at the same time being bombarded with numerous
“current” cases that she tackled with gusto. It is difficult to comprehend how
anyone could achieve the same results without the wealth of experience Viv has.
The changes to adult services probably demand too much of one person, yet Viv
also took on the role of chairing the Health and Wellbeing Board, in better
times a role that would be a full time job for anyone, another role in constant
flux.
Peter McBride probably demonstrates my biggest
failure. Knowing that Peter’s wealth, breadth and quality of understanding of
economic development, apprenticeships, strategic planning and regional politics
cannot be matched even by a number of people and despite Peter wanting to
impart his knowledge to others, I failed to ensure that happened. This meant
that Peter not only undertook one of the most difficult tasks this council has
ever had, the LDF, he also made sure that Kirklees punched well over our weight
at the region; policies that Peter developed have been accepted as regional and
national policy. Though we disagree about fun fairs, Peter has been tireless in
trying to bring vitality to our Town and village centres. Just to be clear, the failure was mine
not Peter's.
Shabir Pandor handled the schools portfolio
in a time of constant change when it was proposed at times that we should have
no contact with schools, when financial pressures meant we had difficult
decisions to take.
I am
sure we made a positive contribution.
Through
the year the importance of being part of the Leeds City Region became more and
more important, but at times more difficult. The Chancellor was trying to get
everyone to sign up for local devolution but was insisting on “Elected Mayors”,
a bit difficult for us in West Yorkshire given that all five authorities had
voted against the concept in referenda.
But we
decided to negotiate and decided our preferred model would be based on the
Leeds City Region, unfortunately the conservative MP’s in North Yorkshire, who
George thought might help him in his bid to become premier (yes not that long
ago that was a possibility) interfered and tried to impose a boundary that
would have seen West Yorkshire funding the agricultural districts in North and
East Yorkshire; remember farmers don’t pay rates. All this confusion left us at
the end of the year no nearer to devolution.
In the
Ward
Heckmondwike continues to be fortunate in having three Labour councillors, we work together on many issues and try to keep each other informed.
When I
first was elected, the majority of cases I dealt with involved housing that
declined over the years, but is now becoming more common again. Whether it is
people looking for a home or trying to cope with a poor private landlord. At a
time when there are less and less “affordable houses” either to buy or rent.
Probably the second most common complaint I
now deal with involves anti-social behaviour. I don’t know if the rise is due
to worse behaviour or lower tolerance but whichever it is the problem is a real
one. People need to feel secure and safe, that is why working through the NMT
(Neighbourhood Management Team), regular liaison with the Police and other
enforcement agencies help us tackle problems and hopefully prevent some
happening, an example being we keep a close watch on empty buildings to stop
them becoming a future problem.
We did
see over the year the forming of a Friends of Heckmondwike Library Group, a
group that have already successfully organised events. As have the Heckmondwike
Traders Association and those working on Christmas Lights and the Crown of
Lights Music Festival, thanks to all involved.
