Council Changes May 2019

[Denise Lloyd]

Surprised nobody else has posted the changes at Herefordshire Council following the recent local elections so here goes:-

Herefordshire Council’s Leader and Chair elected and committee chairs appointed.

Full Council has today announced how Herefordshire Council will be governed in the 2019/20 municipal year.

Councillor Hitchiner has been elected Leader of Herefordshire Council, Councillor Bowen is Chairman of the Council and Councillor Guthrie is Vice-Chairwoman of the Council.

Full Council also appointed Herefordshire Council’s committee chairs, confirmed as:

Adults and wellbeing scrutiny committee    

Chair: Councillor Swinglehurst                         Vice-Chair: Councillor Bartlett

Audit and governance committee       

Chair: Councillor Shaw                                     Vice-Chair: Councillor Bolderson

Children and young people scrutiny committee     

Chair: Councillor Gandy                                   Vice-Chair: Councillor Toynbee

Employment panel committee  

Chair: Councillor Hitchiner                                Vice-Chair: Councillor Johnson

General scrutiny committee     

Chair: Councillor Lester                                    Vice-Chair: Councillor Bowes

Planning and regulatory committee   

Chair: Councillor Hardwick                               Vice-Chair: Councillor Seldon

Licensing sub-committee         

Chair: Councillor Seldon

Published: Friday, 24th May 2019

and

Councillor David Hitchiner, Leader of Herefordshire Council, has today announced his Cabinet member appointments and the portfolios they will be responsible for.

The Leader will continue to direct the council’s corporate policy and strategy and have overall budget responsibility.

Cabinet members are:

Councillor Felicity Norman (Deputy Leader): Children and Families

Councillor Gemma Davies: Contracts and Assets

Councillor Pauline Crockett: Health and Wellbeing

Councillor John Harrington: Infrastructure

Councillor Ellie Chowns: Economy and Communications

Councillor Ange Tyler: Transport and Regulatory Services

Councillor Liz Harvey: Finance and Corporate Services

 

Councillor David Hitchiner, Leader of Herefordshire Council, said:

“Herefordshire is a proudly independent and ingenious county. I look forward to drawing on best practise, using our strengths and talents, to be a council that serves and works with the people of Herefordshire, with openness and imagination at its heart. Our Cabinet Members bring a variety of skills and some new experience- I am confident that working together we will do well for the county we all love.”

Published: Friday, 24th May 2019

Wishing them well in their new roles and look forward to some positive moves

That's all for now!

 

 

[Glenda Powell]

Nothing has change I see, a newly elected councillor for the first time is leader of the council, and they all ran their election campaigns stating THEY WERE DOING AWAY WITH THE CABINET SYSTEM and yet surprise ! surprise! its back, what happened to the committee system? that went out of the window as soon as they were all elected. And Ellie Chowns has put herself forward to be MEP, she cannot hold both positions, I also note that Cllr Matthews (Independent) said he was going to form the new administration with the Tories, another lie, he has made sure the Tories hold positions of chair / vice chair of committees. Unfortunately I cannot see this administration working with them continually arguing amongst themselves. IOC has a reputation of running  the other parties down! TIME WILL TELL, but I won't hold my breath.

[twowheelsgood]

Nothing has changed? Everything has changed! Give them a chance, the first Cabinet meeting is on 13 June - no doubt they will start to discuss it then - it's not something that can happen at a stroke.

[Glenda Powell]

twowheelsgood... As I said they all ran their election campaigns on a lie. The Independents have said it for years that the cabinet system would be changed, what else have they lied about?Cllr Mathews should retire he is 80 yrs old and no one in the Independents really take any notice of him, they all do their own thing. IOC can't agree with each other, they will only agree with something if it their idea, Greens well enough said. It is totally different when you are a member, you are aware of all the things the administration do behind closed doors, and  DO NOT share with the general public

[Aylestone Voice]

TWG - I thought you had learnt your lesson about disagreeing with Glen!

I'm no particular fan of Bob but should he retire at 80? You can stand for election at any age I thought - even at 74! Some people think they know all about the detail of local politics when perhaps they have not been on the Council for many years

It will be illuminating to see how the disparate parties agree on a policy manifesto for the next four years.  

[Glenda Powell]

Aylestone Voice... I am not having a dig at Bob, I have known him for 35 years when he was in the police force with my brother, he has not been well for a few years and also worrying about his wife illness, were you by any chance having a dig at me stating standing for election at 74?I am not senile my brain in tact.  I have not been a councillor since 2015, but I have kept in touch with what's going on via the Independents and some officers I've known for years. I cant say about the Greens but I Know the Independents / IOC have each got their own manifesto.

[Tom Smith]

Perhaps we should have another election if people don't like the result of this one? Imagine if we were told lies and voters believed them!

What we should do is allow MPs to whittle down to two candidates then allow approximately 125000 people in their 70s to choose the next PM.

Don't you just love democracy?

[twowheelsgood]

From IOC Facebook page today;

"We are proud to be part of the Alliance of Independent and Green councillors forming the new administration for Herefordshire Council. We look forward to delivering on our election promises - especially the move to a more inclusive and collaborative committee system of decision-making - as quickly as the council's constitution allows."

[Glenda Powell]

TWG ... I note what they said, look further down page they are only 3 weeks into the Alliance and already Sue Boulter( just retired Mayor) husband is questioning if Bob Matthews is going to keep to his promises. By the way her husband is going to stand for the Whitecross by-election to take her place after she gave up her position just a week after the election, she should of known you cannot work in any capacity of children services and be a councillor!!. And you  think IOC can be trusted this by-election is going to cost the tax payer £4,000 for both district and city council as Sue Boulter was a councillor for both. TIME WILL TELL, but they are not starting off on the right footing.

[Tom Smith]

For your information Glen .... Sue is still a City Councillor. 

[Glenda Powell]

She still in post at the moment on both city and county level, she was told she wasn't allowed to leave until the by-elections.

[Tom Smith]

Wrong again Glen. Fake News.

[Tom Smith]

A Parish Councillor is entitled to work for the Unitary authority. 

[Glenda Powell]

TOM... what are you talking about, I used to be a councillor and when an election is called the candidates choose whether to stand for both council or just one, but if you choose one it has to be district council, because district comes first.

What are you saying is fake news it was in the HT that she was told she stay in place because of the by-election.

[Tom Smith]

GLEN  Sue remains a City Councillor which as you should know is a Parish Council.

She is no longer a County Councillor as she immediately resigned. The papers to call a by election were issued by the Unitary authority on May 10th. There are currently two vacancies on the County Council one in Ross one in Whitecross. Once again Sue is no longer a County Councillor but she is a City Councillor. I hope this clears up your confusion.

[Glenda Powell]

Tom... I am not confused, and yes I know the city council is a parish council, where all decisions are made by the district council, which annoys me because when I was a city councillor we would have meetings about the city council, but our decisions would have to go to the district council for approval.

I am aware of the Whitecross and Ross by elections, Sue had to resign because of her job,, and the same would apply with the city council, the Ross one is because the UKIP candidate passed away before the election. Please do not try to tell me about council matters there is a timescale in which to serve before you can attempt to change the constitution.

In my time as a councillor I also was a board member of the LGA in London which often took me to meetings at the House of Commons. And on one occasion went to10 Downing Street.

[Tom Smith]

Sue DOES NOT have to resign from the City Council. Parish Council matters DO NOT have to go the Unitary authority. You are very much confused or unaware.

[Glenda Powell]

Are you a councillor? because it is you that is confused, all matters have ALWAYS had to go to the district council, unless IOC who was in charge of city council, because they had the most councillors up to the recent  local elections chose to ignore the council rules, which they often did. I can just imagine the problems this Alliance is going to cause, with IOC can't even agree amongst themselves, Independents having allowed the Tories to be part of the administration and given them prominent positions( they are and always have been closet Tories) after the Alliance saying they wanted to get rid of the Tories, that was theirs and IOC election promises to the people of Hereford that's why they got voted in. ONCE AGAIN THE PEOPLE OF Herefordshire HAS BEEN HOODWINKED BY THEIR LIES!!!

[Tom Smith]

Comedy Gold Glen, enjoy your Bank Holiday. 

[twowheelsgood]

1 hour ago, Tom Smith said:

Sue DOES NOT have to resign from the City Council. Parish Council matters DO NOT have to go the Unitary authority. You are very much confused or unaware.

Agreed. Parishes are consulted about some issues eg Planning by the District and their comments are considered. Other issues are dealt with solely by the Parish. In addition, you can be a Parish Councillor without needing to be a District Councillor, there is no enforced 'chosing' involved.

[Aylestone Voice]

So it has changed already.

Perhaps in time we will discover what their policies are. Or will it be made up on the hoof as the three political parties can't agree?

 

Councillor David Hitchiner, Leader of Herefordshire Council, has today announced changes to his cabinet member portfolios.

The Leader will continue to direct the council’s corporate policy and strategy and have overall budget responsibility.

The changes to cabinet member portfolios are as follows:

Councillor Felicity Norman (Deputy Leader): Children and Families

Councillor Gemma Davies: Commissioning, Procurement and Assets

Councillor Ange Tyler: Community and Place-based Services

Councillor Trish Marsh: Environment, Economy and Skills

Councillor Liz Harvey: Finance and Corporate Services

Councillor Pauline Crockett: Health and Adult Wellbeing

Councillor John Harrington: Infrastructure and Transport

 

Councillor David Hitchiner, Leader of Herefordshire Council, said:

“The initial cabinet appointments enabled business continuity within the council and provided me with time to explore the skills and interests of the cabinet team. The revised cabinet portfolios better reflect these skills and interests, as well as grouping areas together in a more logical way. Tourism has been added as an area of responsibility given its importance to the local economy. Other changes reflect emerging priorities, such as our commitment to the climate emergency and community engagement. The holistic approach to the new portfolios ensures there is a breadth of coverage of key services across the whole cabinet.”

[Glenda Powell]

Aylestone voice.... Are you a councillor now, as I have thought for a long time you were?. This post is old news now, I have already put it onto my website. As you will now know five of the Independents have left the Alliance and started up their own group True Independents. As I said the Alliance would not last long, and I was right, just a week into the new council and the Independents broke away.

[twowheelsgood]

Hardly old, it was only announced by the Council last Friday. Ellie Chowns has been replaced by Trish Marsh and some of the job titles have been rationalised. All seems reasonable to me.

[Denise Lloyd]

Might as well show how the new Planning Committee is made up

Councillor Graham Andrews   

Councillor Paul Andrews   

Councillor Polly Andrews   

Councillor Toni Fagan   

Councillor Elizabeth Foxton   

Councillor John Hardwick  (Chairperson) 

Councillor Terry James   

Councillor Tony Johnson   

Councillor Jim Kenyon   

Councillor Jeremy Milln   

Councillor Paul Rone   

Councillor Alan Seldon  (Vice-chairperson) 

Councillor John Stone   

Councillor Yolande Watson   

 

Really surprised the new Leader is not on this - strange

[twowheelsgood]

It's worth looking at the political make up of this Planning Committee and notable that the so called 'True Independents' don't figure;

Councillor Graham Andrews - Herefordshire Independents (Kings Acre)

Councillor Paul Andrews - Herefordshire Independents (Hagley)

Councillor Polly Andrews - Lib Dem (Widemarsh)

Councillor Toni Fagan - Green (Birch)

Councillor Elizabeth Foxton - IOC (Eign Hill)

Councillor John Hardwick  (Chairperson) - Herefordshire Independents (Backbury)

Councillor Terry James - Lib Dem (Kington)

Councillor Tony Johnson - Conservative (Hope End)

Councillor Jim Kenyon - Herefordshire Independents (Tupsley)

Councillor Jeremy Milln - Green (Central)

Councillor Paul Rone - Conservative (Redhill)

Councillor Alan Seldon - (Vice-chairperson) IOC (Bromyard West)

Councillor John Stone - Conservative (Leominster North & Rural)

Councillor Yolande Watson - Herefordshire Independents (Kerne Bridge)

Herefordshire Independents - 5

Conservative - 3

IOC - 2

Lib Dem - 2

Green - 2

[Glenda Powell]

I know the True Independents don't figure in the planning committee, because they had left the Herefordshire Independent / Alliance when the planning committee was formed. According to Bob Matthews first story that appeared in the HT was although they were the largest group on the new council, not one Herefordshire Independent was a member of the cabinet, and he wanted Bernard Hunt on there and the other members of the Alliance said no. So Bob Matthews who was leader of the Herefordshire Independents for 25+ years walked away from the group and his loyal councillors for many years, including myself, and formed the 'true independents' with Bernard Hunt and 3 new councillors.

The Alliance councillors did not keep to their election promises to get rid of the Tories and do away with the cabinet, in favour of a committee system, but that doesn't surprise me all they wanted was to be voted in, which the people of Herefordshire believed what they said, now they have decided to not go ahead with the bypass. If they can go back on their promises to the people within a month of being elected, what are they going to do to Herefordshire in the next four years !!!.

[Denise Lloyd]

https://twitter.com/SunshineRadio/status/1190174431123066880?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet

[twowheelsgood]

To précis the tweet - Hereford councillors have blasted one of Britain’s largest housebuilding firms for not acknowledging climate change with their plans for 300 south of the city.Taylor Wimpey UK, who build and sell more than 10,000 homes each year, have set their sights on land north and south of Grafton lane.But Hereford city councillors said the High Wycombe-based company told them that they would not include environmentally friendly measures such as electric charging points, solar panels and more energy efficient heating in the scheme.

I don't understand why City Councillors don't understand that volume builders answer to their shareholders and not Parish Councillors. Of course they're not going to provide anything that isn't required by law, that hits their profits. They have no environmental conscience or they wouldn't be building on prime agricultural land.

[Glenda Powell]

DEAR ALL, I AM UNABLE TO REPLY TO POST, I had an accident 3 weeks ago and sustained injuries that resulted in 5 hour surgery. I returned home today.....Glenda