I'm not sure if this is old news, but a piece in the paper refers to a consultation on the future shape of the West Berkshire leadership model. I was under the impression that the Strong Leader model had already been recommended for adoption??? This is a slight change to the current model, which means the leader of the council would be elected for the four year term, rather that being elected each year by the council.
The Lib Dems seem to favour going back to the committee model, which personally I think is outdated and adds a lot more red tape and length of time it takes to make decisions. I'd like to see an elected mayor and cabinet. Thoughts>?
I'd like to see a return to something like the committee system - the council officers run rings around the Portfolio holders. Perhaps a committee would view more of their proposals with a bit of healthy scepticism. At the very least there should be an oversight committee monitoring each portfolio.
I'd like to see a return to something like the committee system - the council officers run rings around the Portfolio holders. Perhaps a committee would view more of their proposals with a bit of healthy scepticism. At the very least there should be an oversight committee monitoring each portfolio.
Surely we don't need more costly bureaucracy and red tape?
Wow, something we agree on!!! I just remember the old committee sytems taking absolutely ages to get anything done!!!
While now everything is decided by unelected officers and rubber-stamped by their tame portfolion holder. I'd like a little more democracy and a lot more openness - which public meetings of committees would give. Since the committees disappeared everything has gone on behind closed doors.
That's maybe something to do with the competence of members!!
Partly - but, to be fair, they are part timers trying to control a professional paid £60k a year or so with plenty of staff to back them up. And the councillor still has to earn a living at the day job.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
I agree with this - but I disagree with your solution. I think that oversight of the actions of the officers is more likely to be accomplished by sharing the load amongst a committee of councillors than a single part time portfolio holder.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
You make it sound like some religious happening which could well be rewarded by a sainthood.
I doubt for one moment that the council leader had the Vision for Newbury. It would have been started, promoted, designed, put together by WBC staff and then the councillors would have been told what a good idea it was, Then a councillor who has no building, town planning or civil engineering qualities would have been handed the portfolio, given a few quid extra a year and got their face in the NWN bending down laying the last cobble in the market place and taking the flak if it went wrong. The prime example of this was Mrs Bale's performance at the vision conference when she obviously had only the basic idea of what was going on. What input do you think the elected council had in the funding, selling off car parks for a pound, bribing existing stores to move, failing to pay the going rate to freehold owners and businesses for their properties in order to develop Parkway. I suspect not much.
A lot of what happens in Newbury is down to the professional town planners as they have, in theory, the experience, knowledge and ability to make the plans backed up by their teams of legal eagles. We may believe that those officers ego has a lot to do with the planning but at the end of the day, we have to believe that they are up front with our elected councillors but then we have to also believe that those part time councillors have the experience to understand what is going on around them. Whatever the councillors do or don't do there are sometimes little areas of concern that escape such as why nobody on the council, as far as I know, has aked why WBC only use one architect for all their important work and don't offer the designs out to tender.
You make it sound like some religious happening which could well be rewarded by a sainthood.
I doubt for one moment that the council leader had the Vision for Newbury. It would have been started, promoted, designed, put together by WBC staff and then the councillors would have been told what a good idea it was, Then a councillor who has no building, town planning or civil engineering qualities would have been handed the portfolio, given a few quid extra a year and got their face in the NWN bending down laying the last cobble in the market place and taking the flak if it went wrong. The prime example of this was Mrs Bale's performance at the vision conference when she obviously had only the basic idea of what was going on. What input do you think the elected council had in the funding, selling off car parks for a pound, bribing existing stores to move, failing to pay the going rate to freehold owners and businesses for their properties in order to develop Parkway. I suspect not much.
A lot of what happens in Newbury is down to the professional town planners as they have, in theory, the experience, knowledge and ability to make the plans backed up by their teams of legal eagles. We may believe that those officers ego has a lot to do with the planning but at the end of the day, we have to believe that they are up front with our elected councillors but then we have to also believe that those part time councillors have the experience to understand what is going on around them. Whatever the councillors do or don't do there are sometimes little areas of concern that escape such as why nobody on the council, as far as I know, has aked why WBC only use one architect for all their important work and don't offer the designs out to tender.
No Brian, I meant the leader of West Berkshire should have a vision of what he / she would like to create in their four year term. Nothing to do with the "Newbury Vision"!!! Sorry
No Brian, I meant the leader of West Berkshire should have a vision of what he / she would like to create in their four year term. Nothing to do with the "Newbury Vision"!!! Sorry
I campaigned for elected mayor to be introduced back when I was 14 in Corby, but I realise now that the strong leader model is a fairer system as it is representative of the largest party / coalition.
I campaigned for elected mayor to be introduced back when I was 14 in Corby, but I realise now that the strong leader model is a fairer system as it is representative of the largest party / coalition.
As the elected mayor is elected by us then he would represent the electorate - is that not fairer and hence better than a 'strong leader' representing a party?
They seem to work a mayoral scheme in every village and town in France. He seems to be boss of all that goes on around him according to some of the TV progs I have watched. Anybody know how that works compared with the Newbury mayor who is powerless or the WBC leader.
See, the elected mayor model is fantastic that you get to vote for the mayor and vote for councillors. Problems start when you get a mayor from one party and majority of councillors from one party, it's pretty much open warfare if it goes wrong and nothing gets done. Strong leader is like voting for a mayor, because you vote for the party based on who the leader is going to be for the four year term. That way the number of councillors reflect who the leader of the council is and everything is more stable. I believe that strong leader was being suggested recently by all parties, but I think the Libs prefer the committee system now. I'd be happy with Mayor or Strong Leader as there is more accountability, it's just I have reservations on mayor for the reasons I have listed.
Surely the biggest problem is empowerment. How much power do councils and potential mayors have? I feel the biggest issues that we as a local community complain of, are often national policy issues.
See, the elected mayor model is fantastic that you get to vote for the mayor and vote for councillors. Problems start when you get a mayor from one party and majority of councillors from one party, it's pretty much open warfare if it goes wrong and nothing gets done. Strong leader is like voting for a mayor, because you vote for the party based on who the leader is going to be for the four year term. That way the number of councillors reflect who the leader of the council is and everything is more stable. I believe that strong leader was being suggested recently by all parties, but I think the Libs prefer the committee system now. I'd be happy with Mayor or Strong Leader as there is more accountability, it's just I have reservations on mayor for the reasons I have listed.
Couple of things here. The "strong leader" is voted for by the full council, not just the party with the most seats so in councils with NOC the leader could be from one of the minority parties.
Secondly in councils under control of some parties, the Lib Dems included, the "strong leader" is elected every year, not every four years.
Secondly in councils under control of some parties, the Lib Dems included, the "strong leader" is elected every year, not every four years.
Not in the future - 4 year terms will be the only option. The government is only allowing two options - mayors elected by us or 'strong' leaders elected by the councillors - both for 4 year terms. NB if the mayor option is chosen then the mayor cannot be a councillor, if a councillor stands and is elected as mayor they must be replaced as councillor in a by-election.
See, the elected mayor model is fantastic that you get to vote for the mayor and vote for councillors. Problems start when you get a mayor from one party and majority of councillors from one party, it's pretty much open warfare if it goes wrong and nothing gets done. Strong leader is like voting for a mayor, because you vote for the party based on who the leader is going to be for the four year term. That way the number of councillors reflect who the leader of the council is and everything is more stable. I believe that strong leader was being suggested recently by all parties, but I think the Libs prefer the committee system now. I'd be happy with Mayor or Strong Leader as there is more accountability, it's just I have reservations on mayor for the reasons I have listed.
The elected mayor model is essentially the form of government that has been fairly successful in the USA for almost 250 years.
Couple of things here. The "strong leader" is voted for by the full council, not just the party with the most seats so in councils with NOC the leader could be from one of the minority parties.
Secondly in councils under control of some parties, the Lib Dems included, the "strong leader" is elected every year, not every four years.
Sorry User23, but I believe the leader with cabinet model is based on electing a leader each year. Check the council minutes from the West Berks website. If you can't find the meeting in question, give me a shout and I'll dig it out.
"Strong" Leader is like leader and cabinet but the leader is elected for the four year term. So if you went into an election as leader of your party, people would vote for your party with the hope you would be leader for the four year term (providing you win your own seat of course!!!).
If we went for the mayor option, we could even end up with an independent, which I like. But at the same time, there is possible conflict with the full council!!!
GC, I think that it comes down to the administration. The Tories are happy to sit back and let the officers get on with it. I've already said that the leader of the council should be full time, I'd happily do it for £24k a year!!! Not as much as I get now by a long shot, but it's around the average UK wage. The thing is, we need somebody to lead and show the officers some direction. Otherwise they dictate the course that we are on, even though they are not accountable to the electorate. Some of them don't even live in West Berkshire!!!
Let's get back to having strong leadership with a bit of vision as to how to sort out the mess we have locally. Let's take the tough decisions needed to endure the adult social care budget is not allowed to overspend by huge amounts every year, at the expense of those departments that show prudent housekeeping. Let's address the migration of younger generations away from the area with new employment creation and affordable housing. Let's listen to our local town and parish councils, and establish better working relationships. And let's create strong and effective partnerships with traders, property owners and key stakeholders in each of our town and village centres to protect the identity and viability of them all. In Newbury, we need to remember that the town centre is not just Northbrook Street and the new Parkway Development. We need to create a viable plan to regenerate Thatcham and Theale has an extremely large amount of empty premises.
At present, I can't see what the Tories or Libs would do to address these issues as everything they have "tried" before has failed.
Let's take the tough decisions needed to endure the adult social care budget is not allowed to overspend by huge amounts every year, at the expense of those departments that show prudent housekeeping.
How would you solve this one then Richard?
Here's the scenario, entirely fictional of course, there's no extra money from central government in fact the authority is being told to save millions and has had it's budget slashed, council tax has been frozen so there's no extra money there in fact in real terms it's less income, staff pay has been frozen so you've got more disgruntled and therefore less effective care workers and there are more and more older people who need the services meaning it's costing more. How do you solve it so that they don't overspend?
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