The Action Plan considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 2 February (minute 272 refers) and at which it was resolved to refer it to this extraordinary meeting, is attached.

Further to minute 104 (13 February 2012), which deferred consideration of this matter in accordance with Standing Order 9 (k), the Council was requested to consider the Action Plan in response to the AKA Report and Martin Smith Report that had been agreed by the Cabinet on 2 February 2012 (minute 272 refers). The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management had provided to Members a partial list of Wirral MBC Employees (Table 1) and Other Individuals and Organisations (Table 2) that were mentioned in the AKA Report and outlined the rationale for the information being designated as exempt and not for publication. In particular, if the AKA Report was shown to contain errors in relation to service providers and their associates, there was a likelihood that the Council would face action for damages, which could be significant. In response to a question from Councillor Steve Foulkes, he confirmed that any liability as a result of disclosure was on the Council as a body corporate, not on individual Members.

On a Motion by Councillor Jeff Green and seconded by Councillor Lesley Rennie, it was –

Resolved (unanimously) –

(1)  That Table 1 – Wirral MBC Employees Mentioned in the AKA Report, be placed in the public domain.

(2)  That Table 2 – Other Individuals and Organisations Mentioned in the AKA Report, be placed in the public domain.

The Leader of the Council hoped that an un-redacted version of the AKA report would ultimately be made available to Members and expressed the view that public interest would be properly served by the partial information contained within tables 1 and 2 being placed in the public domain.

He thanked Councillor Simon Mountney for initially raising this matter with the Council, and he paid tribute to Martin Morton for his courage in ensuring that the issues were brought into the public domain. He expressed a view that the Action Plan could be further developed and made the following observations for consideration by the Council –

·  That any reimbursement to be paid to those persons overcharged for their care should be backdated and that compensation should be paid to the immediate families of the service users affected.

·  That an Independent Ombudsman should be appointed, to ensure that any concerns raised by Members or employees of the Council in the future will be dealt with appropriately.

·  That the Independent Ombudsman should have the right to attend and be heard at meetings of the Employment and Appointments Committee.

·  That Martin Morton be asked to reconsider taking up an offer for his re-employment with the Council.

He commented also that he had requested the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development to produce a report upon the circumstances in which two senior officers mentioned in the AKA report were allowed to leave the employment of the Council with severance, less than a day before the final report was received. He also sought information as to why no disciplinary action had been taken in this matter.

The Leader  ...  view the full minutes text for item 126

The Chief Executive told the Cabinet that when the Anna Klonowski Associates (AKA) report into Corporate Governance had been published he had made a public statement that he believed that the report’s findings represented the most significant challenge that this Council faced.  At the same time he had stated that he fully accepted the findings of the AKA report and apologised to anyone who had been affected.  He had also said that he was putting on record his personal pledge that he would take responsibility for ensuing that the improvements needed in corporate governance were made.

The AKA report detailed, at Appendix 1, the Council’s Action Plan that would take forward the recommendations made in the Anna Klonowski and Martin Smith reports which were presented to the last Cabinet meeting.

Councillor S Foulkes asked the Chief Executive to clarify if the AKA report had highlighted any shortcomings in respect of Members.

The Chief Executive reported that the AKA report did not criticise any individual Member, it identified officer failings and as the Head of Paid Service he put on record again that he took full responsibility for ensuring that all of the recommendations within the report before the Cabinet were effectively implemented.  He stated that he would ensure that all Council officers in the future deliver in the manner in which both the Members and residents of Wirral expect and deserve.

Councillor S Foulkes asked for an explanation of why the AKA report had been redacted.  The AKA report had been circulated in redacted form and the Council had been criticised for that.  He asked the Head of Legal and Member Services to explain why the decision had been taken to redact the AKA report.

The Head of Legal and Member Services informed that the AKA report had been circulated in redacted form as issues against individuals had been raised in it which needed to be followed through.  It was inappropriate to make names public whilst due process was being followed.

Councillor S Foulkes told the meeting that he would raise the matter of the redacted AKA report at the Improvement Board meeting which was scheduled for the following evening.  Councillor S Foulkes also informed that, the last time he had asked, the cost of the AKA report had reached £250,000.  He asked if there were any further updates on the costs.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance informed that the cost of the AKA report costs were within the current approval limit but that DLA Piper UK was now in excess of Council approval because of the right to reply process as there were a number of costs and issues involved.  He told the Cabinet that he would provide a report on this to a future meeting.

Councillor S Foulkes made reference to the alleged incidents of abuse, rape and an incident with a baseball bat which were in the public domain and that statements had been made in the AKA report without collaboration.  These were being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 272