An opposition motion calling for a debate on press freedom at the next meeting of Carmarthenshire County Council has been blocked by the Chief Executive under Rule Number 1 of the council's constitution: that the Chief Executive shall decide what the rules are as he sees fit.
Instead of going before the full council, the Plaid motion will instead be directed to a member of the Executive Board for consideration in private (see Plaid's press release on the subject here).
The background to this was the revelation in December that the council had withdrawn advertising from the South Wales Guardian because the paper had published articles and comment pieces critical of County Hall, although the council's control freakery and meddling with press freedom extends way beyond that. As reported extensively on this blog and elsewhere, both the Carmarthen Journal and the Llanelli Star ceased independent reporting of council matters a long time ago, and it recently came to light that blogs critical of the council, including this one, are blocked on PCs provided to councillors (although they are actively monitored by the council's officers).
As readers of the blogs will know, the council's top brass have been resorting to ever more draconian measures to prevent discussion of matters the Council Leader and Chief Executive would rather not have aired. The list since the end of the summer break in September includes reports by the Ombudsman for Public Services, the infamous Sainsbury's press release and pollution in the Burry Inlet. Last month a motion which would have allowed recording of council meetings by the public was negated by a rival motion, contrary to the council's standing orders.
The full council was due to meet for the first time this year on 9 January, but that meeting has been put back by two weeks. This seems to follow a pattern established last year of cancelling or delaying meetings with the result that opportunities for elected councillors to question the executive are also being curbed.
There is no sign either that the council is in any hurry to allow discussion of the Census results which showed that the number of Welsh speakers in Carmarthenshire had fallen by more than anywhere else in Wales, thanks in part at least to the council's policies and disregard for the language.
14 comments:
And this is what we are all paying our hard earned money for. Maybe we should all withhold our council tax in protest?????
Enough is enough! Calling all readers of this and Caebrwyn's blog or any other in favour! How many of you are prepared to come together as a group to raise awareness in Carmarthenshire of the complaints, disputes, etc. To be fair to Y Cneifiwr, Caebrwyn and the Guardian we would all be like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed with manure by CCC Executives, PR Officers and specific Councillors.
I am prepared to use my PC, hardware, electricity and give up my spare time freely to produce newsletters and deliver to residents in Carmarthenshire. All I would need is people to donate paper and ink cartridges and assist with deliveries. I would also be willing to hold the meetings at my home. A problem shared is a problem solved!
Any constructive comments, offers of support or alternative suggestions would be most welcome. It is time to up the ante!
Anon @1.37 If you'd like to discuss this further, please get in touch by e-mailing me on trydar@hotmail.co.uk
As i've said before, count me in too!
You can also count me in too. It's time for the taxpayer to have their voice heard.
OMG! Outrageous! But also, that this PARTICULAR motion has been BLOCKED is screamingly funny! Its just so TRULY ironic!
What gets me is the fact that the public can see it and are appalled by what's going on, but somehow the Councillor's who could do something about it can't? If you get my meaning?
Of course the councillors could if they had some, but I'm sad to say they don't, and so won't.
Lets go back to that great meeting of the people (250) in 2006 in the presence of then MP Adam Price and start again.
Nothing has changed.
It would be glorious to see the likes of Eifion Bowen brought before the people again and see him shaking in front of those that pay his wages. Now termed by Merryl as the rabble.
I was going to keep quiet about the anonymous letter I received in the post over the xmas period, but I am speaking out in the hope that someone, somewhere, with the power to do something about it, will do just that.
I have no doubt that the pathetic content was meant to upset me.
I have now handed over the envelope and content to the Police.
I have done nothing wrong. All I did was speak up for a vulnerable person who was abused which included being hit over the head in an almost identical hit to what I received 13 months earlier. Had the Council dealt with the assault on me then that person would not have been in a position to assault a vulnerable person who couldn't speak. Yet the management structure are still there, although it seems what they do is give the Managers who failed a new name for their job, and then coupled with the fact that the Ombudsman gave them anonymity in his report, by referring to them as letters of the alphabet, and they have been freed of any blame for good.
Come on County Councillors, stand up and be counted. The Welsh Government could act too if they wanted to and as for the CSSIW, I have totally given up.
That is really shocking Delyth. I am really sorry to hear that anyone should do such a vile thing, and I hope the police catch up with whoever sent it.
Diolch Cneifiwr. I am grateful to everyone for their support. There are a lot of good people around, it's just a small core that spoils it for everyone.
Doesn't it amount to negligence when a Council fails do deal with an assault and the same person goes on to assault another?
That must be why C.C.C. try to deny it ever happened now even though they have never investigated it in the first place.
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