The Council's accounts should be easier to understand
Highlights from Liz Chave’s diary, From 13th Feb
Worked one day for Mothers’ Union, and one day in Doughty’s, Church Street.
Enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by my Valentine!
Failed to have a day off, because there were e.mails to catch up with, papers to read, drafts to write – and household chores, of course!
Drove a friend to Oxford and back for medical reasons.
Took part in the funeral of Roy Pearce, Reader at Holy Trinity Church for almost 55 years, and a former Council housing officer.
Took part in a training day on education in the county.
Heard my fellow councillor, Preb Carl Atwood tinkling the Steinway ivories and talking about jazz (especially Fats Waller) courtesy of Hereford Organists Society.
From 6th Feb – sort of a week off……………
From end of January, here is the continuation of my Councillor diary; for the last couple of weeks, you will see it covers the Council Budget, Ward issues, David Hockney and the ordination of women Bishops.
I took part in a service, march and vigil with WATCH (Women and the Church) at St Margaret’s Westminster, and Dean’s Yard. If you knew where to look, you might have seen me on the BBC’s Six O’Clock News on Tuesday 7th Feb. WATCH was founded in 1996 (I was there) as a successor to the Movement for the Ordination of Women. Its main campaign has been to promote the inclusion of women as bishops in the Church of England. I founded the Hereford branch of WATCH in 1999.
I walked the corridors of power! I observed a little of the proceedings of the General Synod of the Church of England and also the House of Commons. In both cases I was interested not so much in what was being debated and decided as how it was being done. I have some potentially useful and interesting ideas for Herefordshire Council, especially on how Council meetings are conducted.
I bought a few books and met up with a few old friends…………..
Saw the David Hockney exhibition: A Bigger Picture at the Royal Academy. Mostly wonderful pictures that show a deep love of ordinary English landscape – which is transformed through the medium of the artist (let alone the media of oils, watercolours and ipads!)
Attended a Hereford Tree Forum meeting – there is work to be done on terms of reference etc for this partnership, and exciting things ahead.
I took Home Communion to our 99 year old parishioner again.
I preached at the Parish Eucharist on Sunday and officiated at Evening Prayer too.
From 30th Jan
As usual I worked one day for Mothers’ Union and one day for Doughty’s.
I heard year 1 children reading at Trinity School.
Visited a couple in the ward and heard about some of the problems they experience when walking their dogs – mostly to do with occasional irresponsible dog owners. I’ve already been corresponding with officers in both Herefordshire Council and Hereford City Council about what might be done to help.
Read papers and prepared for the Full Council meeting.
Attended the Council meeting – all on the Budget. I had submitted two questions, and asked a supplementary too. Hopefully there is a will to try to do something for next year about how the Budget is laid out to make it clearer and more understandable for everyone – I have already offered to help in any way I can (and as I don’t find numbers the easiest things to sort out, hopefully if I can understand it, this will mean it IS easier for everyone!)
Here are my questions:
By what process is monitoring of actual savings and overspends against each year’s budget carried out? We are often told that a strategy will achieve such and such a percentage saving. Who checks this is real, and to whom do they report?
In the interests of openness, transparency and accountability to the general public whose money this Council spends, and whom they serve, why are the budgets and accounts presented in such a confusing way? Apparently even accountants, who LIKE looking at figures, find them obscure and potentially misleading.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
I would have expected to see laid before us with this year’s budget, the headings and figures for last year’s budget in one column, the actual income and expenditure in the next, and then this year’s budget in the third – with explanatory narrative as necessary. We seem to have useful analysis of external factors such as interest rates, and grants from central government, but no information about intent and what actually happened from within our books. Thus, we have insufficient information in front of us to make a properly informed decision on the budget. I’m sure the information must exist, and must have informed the budget (why else would you bother having one?), but we haven’t been given it. May we for next year have the budget laid out with this information in the manner I suggest?
(The answers should all be in the Minutes)
I also asked:
In view of the acknowledged rurality of our County, how vigorously is the Administration campaigning and knocking on the door of the HM Government’s Treasury to argue its case for levels of grant that support services (particularly personalised services) in areas where rurality, and sparseness and remoteness of population are major factors in the cost of provision? Cllr Phillips is often vocal on this issue here – but what is being done?
And received a comprehensive and helpful answer about the lobbying from Cllr Phillips. This all helps me in my understanding of Herefordshire’s particular situation. (Financially we receive below average in many of the grants from central government. Is this fair?).
Here are a few other points I raised:
What thought has been given to mitigating the “some disruption in the city” anticipated by Cabinet for 2013 because of work going on at the Buttermarket, in Broad Street and on the former Cattle Market? Some of us remember how Asda being built, and foot and mouth and legionnaire’s disease affected trade – and the retailers have not forgotten this. This could have an adverse effect on the Council’s receipts in rents etc if retailers already affected by the global economic downturn and changes in attitude towards consumerism and consumption are dealt the last straw by reduced footfall in the City, because of building works and access problems.
Local Transport Plan: The successful application for grant money for Destination Hereford is to be applauded! After the £3.2m for the Broad Street plans and the non-motorised city / Rotherwas connection is taken out, how much of the funding is left for the promotion of rethinking personal transport, what we might think of as a “can do” attitude – I CAN walk, I CAN cycle, I CAN take the bus, instead of taking the car?
And I observed that the figures we’d been given for savings have no context, as the budget for each element is not laid out alongside. We therefore can’t see how significant the savings are in each case.
I think we in It’s Our County are getting a reputation for having a lot to say! Well, isn’t that what you voted us in for?! There are some councillors I have yet to hear speak in Council!
In my capacity as a Reader, I took Home Communion to (probably) one of Hereford’s oldest inhabitants – a lady who will be 100 next month! She lives in my ward (and ecclesiastical parish). She said the Lord’s Prayer in Welsh – my pronunciation is terrible, and much too slow to keep up with her!
And on Sunday, I attended the service in the Cathedral commemorating the Queen’s Accession sixty years ago, and dedicating a new choir anthem music book and ceremonial mace. Many of the great and the good were there – and me, near the back, singing my heart out in the hymns!