In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer, South Wales East AM Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
Caerphilly Council
This week it was revealed that criminal proceedings against three senior Caerphilly council officers have been dropped – just weeks before they were due to stand trial over allegations of misconduct in public office.
A police investigation was launched in 2013 into pay rises for senior officers that were declared unlawful by the Wales Audit Office.
The news that after all this time the matter has been concluded without a trial will have come as a shock to the public.
Following the dropping of charges, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police have plenty of questions to answer such as: Why was this allowed to drag on for more than two-and-a-half years when seemingly there was little possibility of a conviction? How much has this debacle cost the public purse? Will Caerphilly council be compensated for the costs it has incurred in paying these three officers their full salaries while they were suspended? I wait to here from them.
The criminal proceedings may have ended but now this will become a matter for the internal processes of the council.
People should remember that the saga has cost the council tax-payers of Caerphilly many millions of pounds in payments to suspended officers, those who have replaced them, salary increases for top officers and legal and audit costs. This is money that could have spent on services to the public.
I hope the internal processes can be concluded quickly and at as little cost to tax-payers as possible.
Events
I attend a lot of events in the Senedd in my role as an Assembly member. Recently, these have included one to promote flu jabs for older people in particular. I would urge everyone that is eligible to make sure they are vaccinated as soon as possible.
I also went to an event about the impact of the dreaded bedroom tax that has forced some people to move home while other tenants have seen their incomes cut. Unfortunately, the Westminster government shows no signs of reversing a policy that hits vulnerable people very hard.
Regarding the chief officer’s pay scandal, two and a half years ago I made the prediction that this farce would drag on and on. This prediction has been proved correct but in my wildest dreams I never thought that the matter would not be put to trial in court.
The next step, I foresee, is that the long suffering tax payers of Caerffili will have to foot the bill for serious amounts of compensation. Will we get any reimbursment from outside? I don’t know but frankly think it is unlikely; an absolute shambles and I remind people, once more, that the pay structure for senior officers passed by secret panel in 2012 is still in force.
Mr Whittle the bedroom tax is not a tax, a tax is a levy imposed by the state on the earnings of an individual or a company, or is added to certain purchased goods. The so called lefty labelled ‘ bedroom tax ‘ is a reduction in housing benefit and is essentially voluntary. If you want something to campaign against how about the scandalous, unjustified and disgraceful year on year council tax increases here in Caerphilly – it is this that is hitting hard working families in their pockets, the council tax is the biggest bill we have to pay each month and the shameful Welsh councils simply use it as a licence to print money.