Bill Norman said that the purpose of this consultation is to draw peoples’ attention to the Government’s decision for Councils to review their governance arrangements.  The change can only be made by a resolution within the ‘permitted resolution period’.  For all Metropolitan Districts, including Wirral, that must be before 31st December 2009.  There is a Council meeting currently scheduled for 14th December 2009 which would be the final Ordinary Council meeting at which the formal resolution must be passed.  This must be in place after the May elections in 2010, and the consultation is to ask you and all the residents which of the two suggestions is preferred.  They are: -

1. New style Leader and Cabinet model of governance.
2. Directly elected Mayor and Cabinet.

The present system is that we have a Leader and Cabinet model, but the Council Leader and the councillors and the cabinet and the leader can be removed by majority vote at the Council.  The whole of the 66 members set the Budget for the year and also the policies and the direction the Council will take overall.  They also have regulatory Finances, Town and Country Planning and Licensing.  The Cabinet probably deal with 80/90% of the day-to-day business, albeit they have to act within the policies set by 66 members of Council.

Under the new proposals all that will change.

Leader and Cabinet model.  The 66 elected councillors will appoint the leader, and his, or her; term would start on the day of their election and end when the Council holds its first annual meeting after the leader’s normal day of retirement as a Councillor.  In addition, the Leader and the Cabinet are elected every year, but with the new model, it will be for a four year period.  It is not clear what will happen if the Council want to change before the end of the period.

Mayor and Cabinet model.  This is the alternative model, and this is a directly elected Mayor.  You would still have 66 councillors who set the policy framework, and the Mayor would not be elected by the councillors.  He would be elected by all of you, the people of the Borough, and he would be able to select nine members of the Cabinet from the 66 elected members.  In addition, there will be no possibility of the elected members being able to remove the Mayor in that four year term.

We have to decide by the end of this year.  We cannot stay as we are, and we cannot go back to the old system.  The new style Leader and Cabinet and the Elected Mayor and Cabinet, and we are seeking your views over the next few weeks.  This will come to the Council on the 14th December.  There are details on the website and all your views will be directed to the Councillors.

Tony Garrett asked whether details were available to take away.  There were not many there, but if anyone wished to receive one, please contact Marianne Duncan who will provide copies.

Ken Gethin asked “which is the most economical?”

Bill Norman replied that an elected Mayor will bring an additional flair into the scheme, and they tend to have allowances in the region of £30,000. across the country.

Gentleman asked whether this is going out to the general public?  What about a circular going to every household?

Bill Norman replied that it had not been sent out to every household in the Borough because of the cost implications.

Gentleman said that instead of people on the Council making a decision, the people of the Borough, or the area, need to make that decision, but many do not have computer facilities.

Bill Norman said that notices will be in the local papers, and there should be hard copy information in the libraries and the one stop shops and civic buildings for those without access to the Council’s website.  The Council have been instructed to be cost effective for this purpose, and guidelines have been laid down.

Gentleman said that a councillor knocking on the door had told him about it.  Another gentleman asked why do we need 66 councillors?

Bill Norman replied that is the number we currently have.  Periodically, they are reviewed, and sometimes changes proposed.

Cllr. Bob Wilkins said that Wirral has one of the largest Metropolitan Boroughs in the country, and the number of councillors is relative to the population.

Gentleman said that probably, in the old days, it made more sense to have one councillor per ward.  Now, will it be 66 councillors and the Mayor, i.e.67?  With the Mayor choosing his own number for the Cabinet, what will the others do if the Mayoral system is chosen?

Bill Norman said that the Council could instigate, if it wished, the number of councillors per ward.

Gentleman said that the public are being asked which one they wish to go for, but given that the Mayor will have all that power, it will be a very different form of government.

Heather Jones said you are not advertising these Forums, and then when I telephoned, I was told it was at the Pensby Recreational Centre.

Christina Bebbington replied that it is her team who are responsible for advertising, and she will report back at the next Forum.

 It was pointed out that it is a good job we still have the libraries where we can go to read the papers.

Gentleman asked whether there is any prospect of looking at this cycle, because Merseyside Council has not been with us since 1986

Bill Norman replied that this is a matter that the Council could review.  It is possible to move from local elections to all-out elections over three years.

Gentleman asked what the councillors’ views were on these proposals?

Cllr. Rowlands answered that he was trying desperately not to make this a political meeting.  It is very funny to me that we are only being given two preferences by this Government, I would have preferred to go out to the people of the Borough to say “we are here to serve you”.  I am in favour of the Council, with the committees, with 66 members who represent you and be kept to account by you if they do not get the work done.  This is not democratic.

Cllr. Wilkins said he is not happy with this choice, but I am not keen on the elected Mayor system.  When this was first suggested, the main numbers did not like the elected Mayor.

Mark Traynor asked whether this would have an adverse effect on the work of the committees if the Cabinet had been chosen by a Mayor who chose his party rather than choosing those who were knowledgeable on certain Council matters.

Bill Norman replied that, unlike old committees the Planning and Licensing Committees are made up of members of each party  The Cabinet is not like that – it has always had a policy to be a one-party cabinet.  With this system, either the Leader or the Mayor could choose

who they wanted, irrespective of parties.

Cllr. Johnson said he did not know enough about the proposals to comment.

Gentleman said he did not want to bring in politics, but in Heswall there are rights and wrongs in every political party.

John Pyke asked is there a real problem with the four year term, because we have a Local Authority which has a large number of councillors from all three parties.  We could get to the stage where someone is Mayor, but could cling on to the power.  Is it sacrosanct?

Bill Norman replied that, critically, if the councillors retain for themselves the right to remove a Leader during the four year cycle, it would be important for the Council to retain the power to reflect the leadership.

John Pyke – but even if they voted to keep it for the four years, could they change it by saying they wanted a different Mayor from the original one?

Bill Norman replied - it is possible that unless Council reserve the right to remove a Leader they had appointed, it is not possible, but I am not sure.

Cllr. Wilkins asked that anyone wanting a copy of this Review should please come and ask at the end of the meeting.

Tony Garrett said that regarding the notification of these meetings, we used to be informed of every meeting.  I used to do six copies and put them round the Post Offices and the shops who would take them, but the problem on the Wirral recently is that people do not get copies of the Globe or the Wirral News.  Where I live, we have not seen one for two or three years.  We have to go and buy one, or go to the Library.  The deliverers do not like going round in the dark, and I have spoken to Steve Maddox, the Chief Executive about this, particularly if the Council are paying for an advert, and then not many are being delivered.

Christina Bebbington said this will also be investigated further.