Back in August 2014, Salford Council was rocked by revelations that strategic director, Martin Vickers, had got a job with Salford City Reds (now Salford Red Devils), shortly after negotiating an agreement that handed the rugby club up to £164,000 in match day income from its Stadium, and negotiating favourable terms for the payback of a £1.5million debt by Reds owner Marwan Koukash. All done with the knowledge of Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart (see previous Salford Star article for full background click here).
At the time of the Reds negotiations, and before he got the Reds job following a generous severance pay-out from the Council, Vickers was the official Monitoring Officer for Salford Council which meant he was responsible for `monitoring' his own actions. In the wake of the scandal, Salford Council employed a new `independent' Monitoring Officer, Miranda Carruthers Watt, whose job it is to ensure propriety.
Having recently started in the role, the Salford Star asked her to investigate the `politicisation' of the Council's press office, which hasn't responded to any questions or requests for quotes from this publication for over two years, under the direction, we understand, of the Salford Mayor.
The Council's press office is supposed to be `politically neutral'... "Both in terms of accountability and transparency it is essential...that the Council has to answer to the press", we wrote.
In response, Carruthers Watt quoted the Council's Employee Code of Conduct, explaining that Press Office staff are required to follow "the expressed policy of the City Council, including the policies of the elected City Mayor"...
She stated that her role is to act "in a manner which supports the overall reputation of the Council" and to "ensure, so far as is possible, that the elected Mayor, elected Members and officers whilst acting in their official capacities, are acting lawfully"...
"The Council is not obliged to respond to requests from individuals or the press, nor to engage with them" she added "Equally it is not for the Council to prevent the press, acting lawfully themselves, from covering the activities of the council or from commenting on its policies..."
So now it's official Salford Council can legitimately bin any requests for information from the residents who pay Council staff, councillors and the Mayor's wages; or requests from the press which is trying to hold the Council up to account, and balance articles in the process. Neither does the Council have to `engage' with them.
Indeed, the only way of getting information from Salford Council, unless a `preferred media' or `preferred resident', is through the expensive and time consuming Freedom of Information Act. And even under this Act, the Council tries to avoid providing timely and accurate answers.
The total lack of transparency and accountability under Labour Mayor Ian Stewart makes a mockery of the `new' Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn; while the Star has grave doubts over the effectiveness of the new Monitoring Officer...
*One of the other roles of the Monitoring Officer is to "maintain the Council's Register of Interests of Members...as required by Section 29(1) of the Localism Act 2011 and ensure that it is available for inspection and published on the Council's website as required by the Act" the Monitoring Officer may find that this is so out of date it could have been written on parchment...
See also previous Salford Star articles...
*Conditions Ripe For Corruption in Local Government click here
*Salford Council: Lessons From Rotherham click here
*Salford Mayor Dirty Tricks To Stop Council Protests click here
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