'Shock and Anger' As Labour Council Candidate is Convicted of £100,000 Fraud

Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the Gainsborough Constituency, David Prescott (son of former Deputy Prime Minister John (now Lord) Prescott), has taken to twitter to distance himself, and party leader Ed Miliband, from a convicted fraudsters' standing as a Labour Council Candidate.

Above: David Prescott (Labour Parliamentary Candidate

for Gainsborough), Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband and

Ms Charmaine Bowers, Labour Party Candidate for the

Gainsborough North Ward

Mr. Prescott tweeted:

"I'm shocked & angry one of our council candidates has pleaded guilty to fraud. She has been suspended by the party."

The Grimsby Telegraph reported yesterday that Labour District Council Candidate Ms Charmaine Bowers, of Laceby Road, Grimsby and her mother Mrs. Tina Bowers, both pleaded guilty at Plymouth Crown Court to six counts of fraud by false representation and has been jailed for a festival ticket fraud involving more than £100,000.

Prosecutor Andrew Maitland said the pair, who came from Tavistock but now lived in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, were involved in the "sophisticated" fraud between December 2012 and July 2013.

He said Charmaine had falsely claimed on a Facebook page she modelled for Nuts magazine and had access to promotional tickets. He said she had also claimed to earn £8,000 per month modelling for Dior and MAC cosmetics. He said:

"This was a carefully constructed fraud" and the former Face of Plymouth contestant "presented herself in this glamorous life".

Mr Maitland said records seized by detectives found there were "at least 311" people who paid up-front for a unique entrance wristband and confirmation slip.

Benefit cheat is paying back more than £20,000

A mother of two, who is paying back more than £20,000 in benefits she was not entitled to, escaped a prison sentence.

 

Ms Kerry Codd 25, of Church Road, Bircotes, pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates Court, to two counts of failing to notify of a change in circumstances, which affected her entitlement to housing and council tax benefit.

 

The prosecution was brought by West Lindsey District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The offence occurred when Ms Codd lived in Gainsborough.

 

Mr. David Payne, prosecuting said:

"The defendant failed to inform the affected bodies her partner had returned to live with her.

 

"He was in full time employment at the time, which was paid into a joint bank account."

The overpayment of £23,717.19 took place between 7th June 2004 to 31st October 2007.

 

It included the following:

• Income support - £10,020.87
• Housing benefit - £11,419.68
• Council tax benefit -£2,276.64

Defending, Mr. Lloyd Edwards, said she is paying back the overpayments. He said:

"She had a difficult time with her previous partner who left suddenly and reappeared on the scene.

 

"She was not sure he would stay and she delayed reporting it and delayed it."

 

Mr. Edwards explained she is with a new partner now and has two young children. He added:

"This was out of character."

District Judge, Richard Blake said:

"Many people are managing in the community on low income and not cheating on benefits.

 

"What you did was a cheat on the system.

 

"I accept it was to provide for your family and that you have done the best to make amends as you are paying it back."

He gave her 12 weeks in prison for each offence, suspended for a year. And a 12 month supervision order to run concurrently.

Benefit Cheat Must Repay £3,700

A Reepham man has to repay more than £3,700 in benefits he received when he was not entitled to them.
Mr. Norman Stanislawski, of Kennel Lane, Reepham pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates Court to failing to declare a change of circumstances which affected his entitlement to housing and council tax benefit.
In a prosecution brought by West Lindsey District Council, the court heard that the offence was discovered following a data matching exercise.

It revealed tax and national insurance payments had been made when Mr. Stanislawski had told the council he was not working.

At first, Mr. Stanislawski denied the offence. He later admitted he had been working and gave details of his own job, his wife's work and confirmed that working tax credits had also increased and he had not notified anyone.

Mr. Stanislawski was ordered to do sixty hours of unpaid community work and will have to pay £50 costs.
In line with council policy, he will also have to repay back the overpayment of £3,754.68.

Four Councillors Referred to Standards Board for England

The Lincolnshire Echo reports today that for members of West Lindsey District Council have been referred to the Standards Board for England.

The, recently elected, Leader of the Council, Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward) together with colleague Cllr. Malcolm Parish, Conservative (Welton Ward) and Independent Group Leader Cllr. Bernard Theobald, Independent (Wold View Ward) and Cllr. Stuart Kinch, Independent, (Torkesy Ward) face allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

The Standards Board has confirmed it is assessing a request to investigate allegations against Cllr. Theobald, Cllr. Duguid, Cllr. Stuart Kinch and Cllr Parish. The cases of the four men were referred to the national board by the district council's own standards committee.

Spokesman for West Lindsey District Council, Geoff O'Neill is reported to have confirmed to the paper that the complaints had been made by the Liberal Democrat Group and outgoing Chief Executive Mr. Duncan Sharkey, who it is understood had an increasingly strained relationship with Cllr. Theobald during his leadership of the authority.

As previously reported in the paper, Cllr. Duguid admitted meeting a council officer who had been suspended as part of an on-going inquiry into fraud and mismanagement allegations made against the authority's planning department. Leader of the Opposition, Cllr. Reg Shore, Liberal Democrat (Stow Ward) later alleged at a full council meeting that both Cllr. Parish and Cllr. Theobald were also present at this meeting. The Liberal Democrat Group at West Lindsey will want to make as much hay from this matter as possible in preparation for local elections on Thursday, 6th May 2010. They are fighting to regain control of the authority, which they lost two years ago, and have been sliding backwards, with two by-election defeats and one resignation, ever since.

The second issue which may require an investigation concerns a controversial planning application submitted by Cllr. Theobald to develop a house on land owned by himself, Cllr. Kinch and their respective wives.

West Lindsey District Council Leader Cllr. Duguid is reported to have said he was not surprised the issues were being investigated by the Standards Board and accepted he had made a mistake.

Former Leaders Chairmanship of Inter-Authority Body to be Examined

Update to Former Council Leader Continues to Lose Power and Influence.

A proposal to remove Cllr. Bernard Theobald, (Wold View Ward), who until recently was the Conservative Leader of West Lindsey Dsitrct Council, as chairman of a planning committee is due to be discussed. A motion to remove Cllr. Theobald as Chairman of the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee will be considered in a meeting on Monday, 14th January 2010.

The former councillor resigned from his position as Leader of West Lindsey District Council at the beginning of December following allegations being made against him and the authority by the Lincolnshire Echo about a planning application to build a country house on land part-owned by two councillors, which Cllr. Theobald strenuously denies.

Cllr. Theobald automatically lost several positions including his roles on the East Midlands Regional Assembly, Lincolnshire Assembly, Local Government Association General Assembly plus the Local Government East Midlands General Meeting.

His position on the joint planning committee however, was not dependent on being leader of the district council. The committee was recently formed with the aim of allowing councils to work together to make better planning decisions for the region.

Giles McNeill’s New Year’s Message

Earlier in the year I was pleased that Conservative led administration at West Lindsey District Council introduced the new ‘triple bin system’ which seems to be working well – delivering on our election promise in the 2008 local elections to provide a free green bin to every household that wants one. The three-bin system helps to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill which is really good. Some local residents contacted me about having been charged the annual fee for the green bin shortly before they became free, I raised this with colleagues on the district council and the Conservatives have acted to ensure that a refund system is now in place.

The recent flooding in the North of England has brought back memories of the flooding that Nettleham suffered in the summer of 2007 and then again in January 2008. I have been working with colleagues at all levels to ensure that this threat is properly assessed and where possible mitigated. A few days before Christmas I and other members of the Parish Council met with two representatives of the Environment Agency to discuss our concerns about increased risk of flooding in the village. The meeting was very productive and has offered a number of reassurances and new avenues to follow-up. Highway drains are also now being cleaned more regularly.

The biggest issue of 2009 was the proposals of Lincoln Rugby Football Club to move their training ground to the village. The two public meetings held by the Parish Council demonstrated how much strong feeling there is in the village. I believe that there was little to object to on planning grounds in the Rugby Club’s planning application. West Lindsey District Council’s planning department has entered the spotlight in recent months with several stories related to planning in the Lincolnshire Echo. A number of problems have been identified and are now being put right. A new departmental manager is being recruited and I am optimistic that the service will be greatly improved in 2010 and beyond.

2010 is going to bring significant challenges. There will be cuts in public spending regardless of which party wins the general election. It is a testament to many long evenings spent pouring over the figures, that I was able to secure, at the current level, the precept – the money collected through Council Tax that goes to the Parish Council – so no increase on the 2008/09 budget.

I am constantly encouraged by the strong community spirit in Nettleham. For my part I will continue to do my best on behalf of local residents in the months ahead.

Wishing you the best for the New Year,

Giles McNeill
Nettleham Parish Councillor

Rebuilding Confidence in Planning Department

New procedures have been put in place to reassure people that the planning process at West Lindsey District Council is open and transparent.

An Audit Commission report into governance within the planning department is due to be published soon, but Planning Committee Chairman, Cllr. Chris Underwood-Frost, Conservative (Scotter Ward), has decided to introduce some changes immediately.

From Wednesday, 6th January 2010, meetings of the Committee will be web-cast to allow members of the public to watch proceedings live on the internet.

Speaking shortly before the festive period Cllr. Underwood-Frost said:

"We will also be reminding councillors of the Members’ Code of Conduct and the Standards Board for England’s DVD of the new code will be played at the start of the next meeting"

Other changes include:

• Planning Briefings for councillors will be rescheduled for two weeks before meetings to bring them in line with other committees.
• Clarity on the roles of Councillors and Officers has been reissued
• The Interim Service Manager for Planning will be available for half an hour before meetings to answer questions from councillors on the reports for consideration
• Councillors are being urged to check technical details of applications with the officer named in the report prior to the committee.

Cllr. Underwood-Frost said:

"I have also asked for public participation at Planning Committee to be reviewed and good practice from other Councils be investigated to ensure that the public has the best possible opportunity to make their views heard.

"We will obviously be looking carefully at any recommendations made in the Audit Commission report, but in the meantime I hope that these changes will begin to rebuild confidence in the planning service provided by West Lindsey District Council."

Former Council Leader Drops Planning Application

Former Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr. Bernard Theobald, (Wold View Ward), has dropped attempts to build a country house following rejection on appeal the Lincolnshire Echo is reporting.

Cllr. Theobald submitted proposals to develop a five-bedroom property on land he part-owns with colleague Cllr. Stuart Kinch, (Torksey Ward) and their respective wives for £155,000, before drawing up designs to turn the former sawmill site into a residential property at South Owersby in June.

The application was due to go before the council's planning committee with a report recommending it should be approved but was removed after serious concerns were expressed about it. Following the authority's failure to meet a statutory deadline to make a decision, Cllr. Theobald sent an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. But the former leader has now admitted defeat in his bid to build the property on the land after the Planning Inspectorate dismissed his case.

In the report, case inspector Alison Lea said:

"It is clear the council had concerns in respect of the approach adopted by the planning officer in the report marked draft/incomplete.

"Although the council failed to articulate those concerns in any detail, in my opinion the council did have substantive reasons to justify delaying the determination and this is not a case where development which should clearly have been permitted has been prevented or delayed.

"Indeed, I do not agree with the conclusion reached in the draft/incomplete report and have dismissed the appeal."

Cllr. Theobald said:

"It's a standard format – they look at the planning application, take a view and come to a decision.

"You never know which way it will go. That application has run its course."

BBC Radio Lincolnshire is also reporting that the a planning officer who was suspended by West Lindsey District Council has now resigned from the authority.

At a meeting of Nettleham Parish Council it was reported by Cllr. Malcolm Leaning, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward), that Mr. Ian Dickinson, the Planning Officer who was responsible for the Lincoln Rugby Football Club's planning application had been sacked. The Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr. Terry Williams pointedly requested that Cllr. Leaning wished the minutes to reflect that Mr. Dickinson had been sacked and Cllr. Leaning confirmed that was what he had been told. The following morning Cllr. Leaning clarified, via email, that:

"Although I repeated what I had been directly told last evening - I now have been informed that Ian Dickinson has left WLDC by ‘mutual agreement’.

"He is briefing the temporary Head of Planning today on his outstanding work which will include the ‘Rugby Club’ application."

Stuart Kinch Resigns from WLDC Conservative Group - Lib Dem Suggests

I have just been speaking on the telephone to a Liberal Democrat member of West Lindsey District Council who has suggested to me that Cllr. Stuart Kinch, (Torksey Ward) has resigned as a member of the Conservative Group on West Lindsey District Council. Whilst this report remains unconfirmed if true it is serious.

Left: Cllr. Stuart Kinch.

Cllr. Kinch was elected as a Conservative in the local elections of 2003 and subsequently re-elected in 2007 with a modest majority of 305 votes. In March of this year Cllr. Kinch was elected as one of the Deputy Chairman of the Gainsborough Constituency Conservative Association. Cllr. Kinch was elected as a Conservative County Councillor in June 2009 for the Gainsborough Rural South Division of Lincolnshire County Council.

It is unknown at this time if such a resignation would be consequential to the planning application sought for land purchased with Cllr. Theobald who resigned last week as leader of the council, and has been suspended from the local Conservative Party, and the Audit Commission report into the planning department at West Lindsey District Council.

The Documents, available on the West Lindsey District Council website, for the extraordinary meeting taking place on Monday 14th December 2009, where only the appointment of committees is to be transacted shows the names of:

"Councillor Bernard Theobald"

and

"Councillor Stuart Kinch"

highlighted together with a

"Vacancy (Liberal Democrat)"

which presumably is the space made by the resignation of Peter Heath in November earlier in the year.

Gillian Merron Surprise Appearance on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two

Much to the surprise of many no doubt Gillian Merron MP (Lincoln) appeared on tonight's BBC 2 'It Takes Two' - the sister show of the BBC's highly acclaimed Strictly Come Dancing.

Gillian Merron appears in prime time on BBC 2's 'It Takes Two' about twenty minutes into the show commenting on the government's Dance4Life inititive.

The Minister of State for Public Health recently launched a nationwide government campaign to get 100,00 more people active through dance.

The Department of Health’s 'Dance Champions' Group, including Arlene Phillips - a former judge on Strictly Come Dancing who left earlier in the year and was replaced, controversially by Alisha Dixson - former Come Dancing presenter Angela Rippon, Capital Radio’s Lisa Snowden and Strictly Come Dancing pro Darren Bennett, joined with Gillian Merron to announce a nationwide tour to get the country dancing in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

The City MP spoke of her experience in joining Lincoln's Park Street Age Concern's 'line dancing' class, to illustrate how dance can bring people together and improve fitness and flexibility for all ages.

Gillian Merron said:

"Our Dance Champions are some of the best known and leading talents of the dance world, but you don’t have to be a professional to enjoy dancing and feel the positive effect it can have on your health.

"People of all ages and abilities can get active to music and have a lot of fun too.

"Park Street Age Concern's 'line dancing' class is a perfect example of how everyone of every ability can get involved, and I was pleased to launch today's campaign using this lesson from Lincoln.

"The Chief Medical Officer recommends that adults do 30 minutes of physical activity at least five times a week, but over 27 million of us don’t manage it. With the leadership of the dance champions, we want to capture the national enthusiasm for dance and get at least 100,000 more adults active through dance in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

"The Dance Champions will help to make Dance4Life 'come to life' for thousands of people across the country"

Certainly she has stolen a march on Conservative parliamentary hopeful, Karl McCartney in terms of publicity by bagging a few moments in the prime time evening slot show. Karl had previously managed to generate a full front page of the Lincolnshire Echo earlier in the year when he appeared with shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt outlining potential plans for the Lincoln Racecourse on Carholme Road - an achievement that not even Ms. Merron has managed in her twelve year career. Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Reg Shore has also been getting some publicity for his campaign against Bernard Theobald's leadership of West Lindsey District Council and investigations into possible fraud and mismanagement in the planning department.

Former Council Leader Continues to Lose Power and Influence

The Lincolnshire Echo is today reporting that Cllr. Bernard Theobald (Wold View Ward), who resigned as the leader of West Lindsey District Council last Thursday will lose his position on six local authority groups following his decision to resign.

Cllr. Theobald quit his leadership role on West Lindsey District Council last week after allegations were made against him and the authority.

The Lincolnshire Echo investigation highlighted that a planning application submitted by Cllr. Theobald to build a country house on land he part-owned was under investigation. His own deputy Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen), then called for him to resign on Wednesday last week. Cllr. Theobald has been suspended from the Gainsborough Constituency Conservative Association.

The independent Audit Commission is expected to publish a report on governance issues at the council by Friday while its planning department is also under investigation.

As leader, Cllr Theobald was responsible for representing the authority on the East Midlands Regional Assembly, Lincolnshire Assembly, Local Government Association General Assembly plus the Local Government East Midlands General Meeting.

The Lincolnshire Echo report that Cllr. Theobald is required to vacate these roles along with positions held on the West Lindsey Local Strategic Partnership and the West Lindsey Local Strategic Partnership Strategic Housing Board.

A spokesman for West Lindsey District Council said:

"The seat on these organisations belongs to whoever is leader of West Lindsey District Council."

Cllr. Theobald's chairmanship of another group - the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee - will be discussed at its next meeting in the new year.

The paper report that Cllr. Theobald declined to comment. Cllr. Theobald has blamed the Lincolnshire Echo investigation as the reason for his resignation. It is understood he is seeking legal recourse.

Planning Controversy at West Lindsey Embroils Leadership

Further details emerged last night surrounding the investigations into alleged fraud and mismanagement in the Planning Department at West Lindsey District Council.

It has been alleged that Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bernard Theobald, Conservative (Wold View Ward) and a previous chairman of the council’s Planning Committee, submitted a planning application in June 2009 to build a country house on land at South Owersby. Cllr. Theobald it appears had purchased the land with council colleague Cllr. Stuart Kinch, Conservative (Torksey Ward) with their respective wives for the sum of £155,000.

The Audit Commission is currently conducting an investigation into governance issues at the authority, including the planning department. Potential problems in the management of the planning service had been brought to the council’s attention and an internal investigation was being carried out. One officer has been suspended as a neutral act.

At a stormy council meeting last night Leader of the Opposition, Cllr. Reg Shore, Liberal Democrat (Stow Ward) called upon the council to be transparent saying:

"You are all fully aware of what is at stake, as are the public. If you ignore these issues, you may not be forgiven."

The row centres in part on how much of the land had previously been used for residential purposes.

The report stated there was already a house and several static caravans on it, so it would be reasonable to build a five bedroom house there. However, residents and the parish council maintain the buildings had been used for livestock, so developing a large house would not fit within the allowed limits for the land.

The former owner of the land, Mr. Robert Carter, claimed in a letter to the council that he had received advice from council planning officers that such a large development would not be granted planning permission. He sold the land in October 2008 and said he would look for compensation if Cllr. Theobald's application was approved.

In confidential planning documents brought into the public domain by the Lincolnshire Echo, a report was written by a planning officer recommending the application should be approved. However, It was taken off the agenda just days before it was due to be discussed by councillors at a planning committee.

Cllr. Theobald has denied any wrongdoing and said he had no involvement in the planning process. He said his agents were in control of the application and he declared his interest at the earliest opportunity.

"I did not deal with the negotiations and I don't think Cllr. Kinch did.

"The application was handed over to my agents, I have not spoken to planning officers about it.

"I insisted the application had my name on it so there was no doubt of my involvement. I wanted everyone to be aware in the council and I declared an interest.

"There was no doubt I had a practical interest. I never had a meeting on that land about the land with any officer. I spoke to no-one."

Parish Council's Decision Day for Rugby Club's Planning Application

This evening Nettleham Parish Council will meet to consider the planning application, submitted to West Lindsey District Council (the Planning Authority), by Lincoln Rugby Football Club at a  meeting being held at the Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue, Nettleham from 7:45pm.

The Rugby Club's proposals first came to light earlier in the year when members of the Parish Council were notified by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr. Terry Williams, that an article would be going in the Nettleham News regarding a proposed development and that an extraordinary meeting would be convened.

Whilst the Parish Council received a considerable amount of criticism for arranging a meeting for mid July - shortly before the school holidays began - at every stage the Parish Council attempted to conduct itself in an open, transparent and accessible way. Unfortunately because of timing, notice of the meeting went out between issues of the Nettleham News meaning that the council's preferred method of publicity was not an option.

Local resident Mr. Steve Perkins, took it on himself to arrange a public meeting in early November and a petition collected indicated that those attending were 96% against and 4% in favour (sample 104). This contrasts sharply with the poll conducted on this blog where figures at the close of the poll showed only 14% against and 85% in favour (sample 171).

The Parish Council's determination is taken in the light of severe troubles at West Lindsey District Council's planning department which has seen one officer put on suspension, at least one officer has left their post, a political storm which is threatening the stability of the ruling Conservative administration & leadership and one Liberal Democrat councillor who is believed to have resigned because of the problems in planning.

Tonight's meeting is expected to draw a considerable crowd. Mr. Perkin's meeting drew a crowd of over 100 and the parish council expect the venue to be swamped by interested parties. The meeting had to be moved following the interest in this issue.

All eyes this evening will be on the Parish Council's decision.

Chief Executive Leaves Amid Growing Crisis at West Lindsey District Council

Update to Investigations Stall at West Lindsey as Liberal Democrat 'Fudge' Prevails, Liberal Democrats Frustrate Investigations at West Lindsey and Fraud Inquiry at West Lindsey..

The Lincolnshire Echo is today reporting that it could be the middle of next year before a successor is appointed to replace West Lindsey District Council's chief executive. Although it was confirmed during last week that Mr. Duncan Sharkey is leaving his post at West Lindsey District Council after nearly five years.

He is expected to remain in post until March 2010 when he will move to become Worcester City Council's managing director. There is some speculation that in the interim he could be temporarily replaced by his deputy Mr. Daren Turner.

A search for a permanent successor will not take place until a review of senior management at the authority has been completed. The Liberal Democrat leadership has raised concerns that two of the three councillors given the task of carrying this out include Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bernard Theobald, Conservative (Wold View Ward) and his deputy Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward).

Cllr. Duguid caused controversy at last week's extraordinary meeting of the council after admitting he had met a officer from the planning department suspended as part of an on-going fraud investigation.

Further Cllr. Theobald refused to confirm or deny whether he was also present and labelled the claims from opposition leader Cllr. Reg Shore, Liberal Democrat Group Leader (Stow Ward), to be

"vague accusations".

But Cllr. Theobald is reported to have said there should be no worries about the involvement of himself or his deputy in the review and their sole aim was to secure best value for taxpayers' cash.

The Liberal Democrats would be required to put forward a member for the senior management review but Cllr. Shore said this would not happen until changes took place. The leader of the opposition described the process as giving him 'serious concerns'.

A reporter at the Lincolnshire Echo has also been fishing for comment on Cllr. Theobald's leadership of the Conservative Group and the Council. A West Lindsey District Council Conservative Group Meeting may be held as early as this week.

Investigations Stall at West Lindsey as Liberal Democrat 'Fudge' Prevails

Update to Liberal Democrats Frustrate Investigations at West Lindsey and Fraud Inquiry at West Lindsey.

A member of West Lindsey District Council has admitted meeting a planning officer who was suspended as part of a fraud investigation. Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward), made the revelation during a tense two-hour council meeting last night, which saw the Tories defeated in their attempts to push ahead with the authority's investigation of the allegations.

Cllr. Duguid, Deputy Leader of the Council, said the meeting was not planned and that he was ‘ambushed’ by the officer – but confirmed he did speak to him.

The staff member was suspended as part of an on-going inquiry into fraud and mismanagement allegations made against the authority's planning department.

Liberal Democrat leader Reg Shore asked Cllr. Duguid whether he could confirm rumours of senior council members meeting with the suspended officer. Cllr Duguid said:

"I did meet a suspended member of council. However, I did not solicit that meeting and it was unavoidable. I declared that meeting to officers at the earliest opportunity."

Responding to Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Cllr. Reg Shore (Stow Ward) and Cllr. Malcolm Leaning, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward), Cllr. Bernard Theobald, Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Conservative (Wold View Ward), commenting on the proposal to expand number of members and the remit of the 'Investigations and Disciplinary Committee' said:

"I think, I stand here in the same role as every other member of this council and that is to act in the best interest of the council taxpayer. We are charged to represent them. That's what we do, the council is really owned by the public and we are their elected members to come and run the council on their behalf, for their benefit. That is to ensure that we deliver the services they require at a cost that is affordable. And to try also to promote things that act in the well-being and interest of the council tax-payer.

"I heard with interest from Cllr. Leaning who said 'the mess we've got ourselves into'. I'm sitting here trying to think how we've as elected members have got ourselves into this mess because we've had no input into it. This is a mess we had no input into and think that's a problem. We will certainly be held accountable by the public, because we're their members. Therefore it is very important that when we are asked questions by the public we can give them an honest, open and transparent answers. And the only way we are going to be able to do that is by looking at what's happened within the council.

"Now I don't know about this disciplinary matter that was on-going, and I don't know how big an issue it is around other investigations that have taken place or not taken place. The Auditor, remember, is in at our invitation... I've met with the auditor there are issues that were raised in paper G that he said to me, quite categorically, that that is for the Council to look at."

Cllr. Theobald also criticised the way in which the Liberal Democrats' leadership appeared to be trying to gain some political advantage:

"I am sad if this gets turned into a party political football to make political capital out of.

"The auditor said to me that on what he'd seen so far 'their was no question of fraud', in his opinion, in the planning department... But in the meantime we still have a headline batting about out there that says 'Fraud and Mismanagement in the Planning Department'... [The Public] they've seen the headline, it's been put out there, they want to know what's going on."

Ultimately Cllr. Theobald said:

"This is the concern, this council belongs to the members, and the members need to reassure themselves of the conduct of each and everyone of us.. whether by election or whether by employment. We need to know we are all pulling together in the right direction in the best interest of the public, the people we serve."

Cllr. Leaning later responded to Cllr. Theobald's comments about the crisis not being of the members making by saying:

"I am in complete agreement."

In response to a fudge of delaying tactics that the Liberal democrats deployed Cllr. Theobald said:

"This is about being strong and decisive, it's about saying if their are issues here we want to find out what they are and understand them."

Recently re-elected Cllr. Jackie Brockway, Conservative (Saxilby Ward) who crossed the political aisle earlier in the year, gave a strong case for moving forward with the committee, not for the benefit of the councillors, but for the council's employees who do not need the additional burden of holding consecutive, rather than parallel investigations.

Cllr. Reg Shore gave notice that the three Liberal Democrat members would not attend until such time as the Audit Commission report had been received.

Cllr. Theobald, who with 22 Conservative Councillors, 13 Liberal Democrats, 1 Independent and 1 Vacancy (not expected to be filled until May 2010), should have been able to find enough support to carry the motion; but he failed to do so. In the end the motion fell 12:14 with 2 abstentions – Cllr. Theobald declared the issue ‘dead in the water’. Whilst only 28 of the 37 members of the council were able to be in attendance to vote - a number of the Conservative benches must have stayed away.

The Conservative Group Leader said he was disappointed that the opposition group would not allow the investigations committee, which included Cllr Duguid, to expand from five members to eight.

The increase was proposed after the Liberal Democrats refused to provide two members until the independent Audit Commission has completed its review on governance at the authority.

The Liberal Democrat opposition believed the Conservatives were trying to internalise the process by creating this committee.

How this will affect Cllr. Theobald's continued leadership of the Council and Conservative Group is unknown at this time.

Cllr. Theobald told the Lincolnshire Echo the allegations needed investigating to answer public concerns and accused the opposition of a cover-up.

"I am not sure why the Liberal Democrats don't want the matters investigated.

"Losing the vote does not question my authority but does question whether the Liberal Democrats should be in the authority. They are acting in other interests. The taxpayer has a right to know what is happening."

Cllr. Shore said there was ‘no chance’ of a cover-up from his party.

Liberal Democrats Frustrate Investigations at West Lindsey

Update to Fraud Inquiry at West Lindsey.

Investigations into fraud and mismanagement in West Lindsey District Council's planning department have been frustrated by Liberal Democrats failing to participate in an investigatory process.

The five member 'Investigations and Disciplinary Committee' had to adjourn their first meeting after four minutes frustrated because the Liberal Democrat members refused to take part. Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr. Reg Shore (Stow Ward), leading the council's opposition, has said the committee alone was not sufficient to examine the matters. The Audit Commission is also conducting it's own investigation at the district council.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bernard Theobald, Conservative (Wold View)

The West Lindsey Conservative Group are proposing to expand the investigations committee to include eight councillors at an extraordinary full council meeting to be held Tuesday, 17th November 2009. If the changes are approved, it will allow the committee's five Conservative members to get on with investigations, regardless of whether the three Liberal Democrat councillors agree to join in.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Reg Shore has said the Liberal Democrats would only take part after the Audit Commission has completed its investigation. Cllr Shore said:

"The Conservative leadership is desperate to get this all out of the way.

"They cannot do this with the present numbers because they will be inquorate. Therefore they have got to manipulate the system in order to get their own way."

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bernard Theobald, said tomorrow's meeting was nothing more than an effort to allow the committee to start progressing with its work.

On the West Lindsey District Council Website you can watch the meeting of the Council back in Sepetember when this was discussed.

Fraud Inquiry at West Lindsey District Council

Investigators are probing West Lindsey's planning department over suggestions of potential fraud and mismanagement.

In a statement, the council said that potential problems in the management of the planning service had been brought to its attention and an internal investigation was being carried out. A spokesman for the council said:

"We are working with the Audit Commission and further investigations are being carried out."

It is understood that the issue was considered and discussed by district councillors in private session at Monday's meeting of the full council, but not until one key member shed more light and possibly increased the heat in public session.

The council has confirmed that a manager in planning services had been suspended. Which has been described as a neutral act to allow a proper investigation to take place.

Simultaneously the council is looking at a review of its senior management structure, which current leader Bernard Theobald said is:

"an exercise in cutting the council's coat according to the cloth.

"This is simply a review of structure and it may be that we need to make no changes or only small tweaks."

But former leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Cllr. Reg Shore, was more suspicious of the motivations and linked the review to the current crisis.

"I believe there are other things going on that are not apparent at this time."

"This council is going through a crisis with serious charges of potential fraud and mismanagement brought to our door."

Cllr. Shore also cryptically referred to

"other issues that may involve major standards breaches"

which he implied directly focussed on council members that could involve the police.

"I am not allowed to go into detail. That's for others as they go about their investigations and we await their outcomes,"

said Cllr. Shore who saw Cllr. Theobald's move as

"ultimately destroying the council rather than strengthening it."

Cllr. Theobald was

"extremely concerned and disturbed"

by Cllr. Shore's assertions as he did not believe there was any evidence of impropriety by members and challenged Chief Executive Duncan Sharkey if he was aware of any acts by members that could be construed as such.

Mr. Sharkey said he had

"concerns about potential breaches in standards, but they are only concerns, not evidence."

Watch the Council Meeting here.