The Plaid Cymru group on Carmarthenshire County Council has issued the following statement:
"The leader of the Plaid Cymru
Opposition Group on Carmarthenshire Council, Councillor Peter Hughes Griffiths, has announced his group
will be meeting on Monday (3rd February) to discuss presenting
motions of no confidence in three members of the Council’s Executive Board
(Leader Kevin Madge, Former Leader Meryl Gravell and Deputy Leader Pam
Palmer).
The Plaid group will also be
discussing no confidence motions in two of the Council’s most senior officials,
namely the Chief Executive, Mark James, and the Head of Administration and Law,
Linda Rees Jones.
Councillor Hughes-Griffiths strongly criticised the Labour Leader of the
Council, Councillor Kevin Madge, for his complete lack of leadership in the
matter, claiming that the Leader should have at the very least suspended the council
officers pending further investigation.
Councillor Peter Hughes-Griffiths
said:
“It is imperative that these two extremely
damaging reports are discussed as a matter of urgency. Carmarthenshire residents deserve answers and
the council group I lead is not prepared to wait.
“We cannot go into a meeting to discuss the
authority’s budget next month when we have no confidence in the political
leadership and some of the council’s senior staff.
“Carmarthenshire Council has been bereft of
political leadership which has sadly continued since the publication of these
reports. It appears that every member of the Executive
Board has gone into hiding and has not taken an ounce of responsibility for their
actions.
“If I was leading this authority I would have
at the very least suspended senior officers pending further investigation. It is the bare minimum which should be done
given the seriousness of the Auditor’s findings. Furthermore, if I was responsible for spending
tens of thousands of pounds unlawfully, I would do the honourable thing and
stand down.
“The opposition group will meet on Monday
evening to discuss presenting motions of no confidence against three Executive
Board members and two senior officers.
There is overwhelming evidence from the Wales Audit Office to say these
people cannot continue in their posts.
“I emphasise that an extraordinary meeting
must be held. The people of
Carmarthenshire will rightly expect their local councillor – irrespective of
political party – to agree to this meeting without hesitation."
4 comments:
What are the numbers here. Can the opposition make any inroads?
Plaid has 28 out of 74 seats. In addition there are 2 "independent" independents. Not a majority. It will all come down to whether any of the Labour or Independent councillors decide they cannot stomach any more - either by voting with Plaid or just staying away.
For the officers the situation is becoming rapidly impossible. With almost half of the councillors saying they have no confidence in them, their authority is gone.
Anon @12.01 on 16 Feb. Can I suggest that you take up your complaint with Peter Hughes Griffiths direct.
Anon @12.01. I have to admit to feeling that I have acted a little harshly in not publishing your question.
In my defence, the question is not related to this post.
Second, the affair (which is by the way quite old now) did receive quite a lot of comment at the time.
As is normal practice in such cases which involve an individual, the details are not made public.
It is highly unlikely that details will ever come out, and I am not sure why you think Peter Hughes Griffiths is in some special way responsible, apart from being a town councillor. You could equally well ask Phil Grice, but I don't think you'll get anything out of him either.
Personally I have no idea what happened, apart from the likelihood that there was a case which went before an employment tribunal. That sort of thing happens in lots of workplaces, and the vast majority go unreported. Where they become a matter for public concern is when there is evidence of systematic abuse of staff in a culture of bullying. I have not seen any evidence to suggest that this is the case in the town council.
For these reasons I felt that the question was an attempt to smear a thoroughly decent man in order to try to divert attention from what is happening in County Hall.
If you are not happy with this, please feel free to get in touch by e-mail.
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