 |
| A section of the Terms of Enagagement: Coucillors were encouraged to publically name and shame Cllr Schofield before the case was even submitted to the Ombudsman! |
The case against him was put together by David Bowles, the Welsh Government appointed interim Managing Director to Anglesey County Council until last year. Not content with just referring Cllr Schofield to the Ombudsman, Mr Bowles also effectively ordered Councillors to "robustly name and shame" Cllr Schofield, eject him from their Groupings, and "take any and all opportunities to expose and marginalise" him as part of the controversial 'Terms of Engagement' he had drawn up to regulate councillor behaviour. It was the introduction of this disastrous document which caused an extraordinary and irreparable fissure amongst councillors, leading over time directly to the Welsh Government's decision to impose Commissioners on Ynys Môn, the unprecedented decision to postpone local elections here, and the outright attempt to 'rig' the local electoral boundaries on the Island.
A document from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, dated 20th February 2012, which summarises their decision not to pursue the case against Mr Schofield any further says:
"The evidence obtained did not conclusively support the allegations in the complaint or completely exonerate Councillor Schofield of the allegations against him. The evidence in the main was contradictory and largely uncorroborated. In these circumstances the Ombudsman found that a referral to the Standards Committee or Adjudication Panel for Wales was not appropriate."It is known that Mr Bowles, the most well paid Civil Servant in Wales at the time, spent a great deal of public money pursuing this case against Cllr Schofield — therefore for the Ombudsman's office to now say that the evidence was "contradictory and largely uncorroborated" and that pursuing it any further was "not appropriate" seriously calls into question the judgement of Mr Bowles and those in the Welsh Government who appointed him.
Considering the dramatic and unwelcome knock-on effects Mr Bowles decision making has had on our governance here in Ynys Môn it must surely be time for those within the Council who were party to the drafting of the Terms of Engagement to consider their positions. Likewise it is now also absolutely clear that the Welsh Government's interventions into Ynys Môn been both ruinously expensive and disastrously inept. Will they take any responsibility for the mess they have been more than partially responsible in creating?
Mr Bowles' full 'Terms of Engagement' are below:
Terms of Engagement
25 comments:
I've received a number of comments but have not been able to publish them due to 'naming names'. Please be careful when commenting. Thanks.
ALL THOSE INVOLVED SHOULD RESIGN.
Consider there positions indeed. The Officers and Councillor involved in this treachery have shown themselves to be total untrustworthy an must go.
As for David Bowles and the Welsh Assembly. Need more be said?
Political Gerrymandering.
Wasn't Dame Porter prosecuted for such behavior?
Where are you Druid?
This is a very important development which reflects badly on the Council, yet there's is a big lull in the comments?
I'm here. There have been lots & lots of comments, but I'm afraid only very few have been publishable...
It's NOT the standard that we expect from our Local Authority, we may be out of the way in this little corner of the United Kingdom, but this sort of behaviour is unwanted and should be investigated, properly and thoroughly.
However, as usual, it will all be brushed under the carpet and we will be back to normal on Monday, with a Council that continues to piss on all over us.
I wonder if we will ever get at the truth?
This is what we should be asking ourselves. What really happened here? We had this new boy coming in, causing chaos, then rides off, calling people and causing trouble, will we get a proper answer as to the real reason this happened or was it part of a Political Party ego trip, the voice of the tyrant against decency and honesty?
This is why we have NO FAITH in this so called " Administraion", they cause chaos and are completely out of touch with the real needs and wishes of the People of Anglesey, a bit like IWJ and AO, all wasters yet always there with their hand out. But beware if they don't like you, you will then become a victim of intimidation, and a social outcast. Maybe the Commissioners will investigate them all.
This Bowles of which we speak.
Is he one who was paid via a Personal Services Company Tax Dodge Scheme, such as are currently in great disfavour in Westminster?
"I wonder if we will ever get to the truth"
Hasn't BD been telling us for years whats going on at this dysfunctional council?
He's to have his day yet, maybe the truth will come out then.
Surely the Welsh Audit office and Carl Sareagent have egg all over their faces over this.
DB made the complaints on behalf of the council, he'll walk away Scot-free, while the council and the tax payers of Anglesey pick up the bill.
All those involved in this dirty piece of work need to do a lot more than just consider their positions.
If I was BD I would be pushing hard for a public Inquiry into this malicious action by the Council and it's management against himself and Mr Schofield, the truth needs to be told.
It will be interesting to see if the current Leader of the Council invites Cllr Schofield back into the ruling group and sacks the malicious perpetrators from his cabinet.
Rules were made for breaking is the mandate for this Council but as far as some are concernered there are no rules at all, we have a two tier Council, on one side are those who care about the People, the Island and their moral responsibility and on the other we have the selfish, the greedy and immoral, what side do you want to represent us?
For years we have been left in no doubt, there is no real Council here, only a self seeking, greedy and self destructive monster, created by an insatiable need for power, supported fully by the miscreants located and breathing in Cardiff.
Re Anon 26 February 2012 08:53
You should also have added to your post
"Whilst our AM and MP fiddled whilst Rome burnt."
"Whilst Rome burnt"
This Rome is still burning and will continue to do so until the rabble that set light to it are long gone.
I'd like to be a fly on the wall in the Assembly right now. Carl Sergeant, and his bunch of Labour dim wits, Must be choking on their couldn't care less own arrogance.
If you employ a mad man to do a job You shouldn't be surprised if he does mad things.
What the people of Anglesey require is a full public inquiry into this whole affair. Those officers involved should be sacked and those councillors involved, Named and Shamed.
"I'd like to be a fly on the wall"
It wasn't just the Labour dim wits, the "Terms of Engagement" were also supported by others.
If you think the "Terms of Engagement" are bad, you should all read the original "Draft Terms of Engagement" which no one supported.
Isn't it about time the Commissioners grew a pair of balls between them and had an Inquiry into this affair, or have they given up trying to sort the mess out.
If the Commissioners want to show some faith with the People and prove without doubt that they are here to clean the place out then they should get things rolling.
These Commissioners are earning serious money and should prove their worth by doing the right thing or are we in a three way situation, one situation when the Council is telling the truth, the other when the Commissioners are being told the truth and the third is when the People want to be told the truth.
Sort it out!
Have the Commissioners and Cardiff got the balls to have an inquiry into this nasty affair?
"Have the Commissioners and Cardiff got the Balls to have an inquiry into this nasty affair?"
If they have and there is an inquire in to this nasty affair, Ynys Mon County Council would be dissolved and run by Gwynedd, once and for all.
Questions as in the Assembly today
Carwyn Jones, the Firsr Minister, showed he could not give a dam.
See BBC Democracy live.
Questions of the First Minister.
Labour F..K.D up. It was the dummy Labour sent in. It was Labour that gave him the mandate.
It was Labour that orchestrated the "Terms of Hate" to create Political gerrymandering.
It was Labour's Bowles who brought the Council in to disrepute.
Carwyn Jones and Sargeant will not get away with it.
"QUESTIONS OF THE FIRST MINISTER"
Today we can all witness via BBC DEMOCRACY LIVE, (now recorded)this afternoon, the gob sh.t don't give a toss attitudes of the First Minister, Carwyn Jones when asked a perfectly good in the public interest question about the lunatic the Welsh Assemble sent in to run Anglesey County Council.
Question By Mark Isherwood AM :
"How do you respond to the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales decision at the end of last week to drop a case against Anglesey Councillor, Elwyn Schofield on grounds that the evidence was contradictory and largely uncorroborated. A case brought by the Welsh Government appointed former Interim Managing Director, who also produced a Terms of Engagement obliging councillors to sign forcing them to Publicly and Robustly condemn this Councillor and other named Councillors,Which led to , ultimately the appointment of the Commissioners, the postponement of the local elections and the drastic boundary Changes.
Answer from Carwyn Jones, First Minister:
"Well (splutter, splutter). I don't wan't to comment on something that's been done by the Ombudsman or finding made by the Ombudsman, that's a matter for the Local"
Authority.
Gutless to the end.
"It was the introduction of this disastrous document which caused an extraordinary and irreparable fissure amongst councillors"
That tends to give s slightly simplistic view, though. The councillors were split amongst themselves, admittedly for very different reasons, very long before any of this came up.
It's important to keep things in their true perspective, I think, for there are very few pure white sheep in this fold.
Post a Comment