Northumberland County Council is facing a bullying epidemic ………… and it starts at the TOP

In May 2017, Peter Jackson and his Tory gang formed a council administration with the help of 3 Bedlington 'Independents' and a pale Tory reject from Berwick. 

From day one, the rules, norms and laws of local government and indeed, the law have gone out the window. Smear has been the order of the day and pressure is regularly placed on officers by senior administration appointments, from both the private and public sector. Under the Tories and led by Jackson, we're seeing the creeping takeover of Northumberland County Council by the culture of 'secondment' from Northumbria Health Care Trust. The CEO is a healthcare 'secondment', working 2 days for the council, the CEO of Arch is a healthcare 'secondment' whose appointment was rushed through in order to start the ball rolling with Richard Wearmouth, the man who seems to have a lot of interests in energy, in the asset stripping of Arch. The Arch witchunt has provided cover for £millions of pounds of taxpayers money being thrown into a hole in Ashington. 

Now for the meat of this story and very shocking it is. Residents of the county should ask themselves if what's happening in their name is acceptable to them. If the answer is yes, residents need to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror. Indeed, anyone who thinks bullying is acceptable in any circumstance should review their world view. 

Allegations of systemic bullying have bubbled around this administration and senior Tories and officers since almost day one. The allegations have been covered up and withheld from public view, all with the connivance of senior officers. 

On day one, Jackson went after Steve Mason and within three weeks had agreed to pay him off with £417,000 of tax payers money. Why such a quick departure? By 10th May, 6 days after Jackson won an election, the council's most senior planning officer was told to 'find a way to stop a lawful planning application'. His professional and legal opinion said the council couldn't lawfully stop this planning application in Ponteland. It's the Dissington Garden Village development which borders on interests Cllr Jackson holds. The senior planner left his job in the council after months of allegedly unlawful pressure to recommend stopping the DGV application.

He left with a settlement agreement which cost the taxpayer a further five figure sum. The council is now being sued for near £10m over allegations of bullying, intimidation and corruption with Jackson, Riddle and CEO Daljit Lally (who also works in the NHS) all in the dock as defendants. They all deny the charges but have so far provided not a shred of evidence to substantiate their protestations of innocence. In fact, a key document which is an investigation into...… wait for it.. cue drumroll.... bullying is being withheld from councillors and the public even when the councillors are being asked to provide taxpayers money to pay for the defence of the 'Dissington Three'. More taxpayers cash being poured down the drain. 

This week, a glance at Newcastle Employment Tribunal court lists sees a case heard on 28th Sept. It involves further allegations of bullying and intimidation which names The CEO, Mrs Lally and the head of HR, Kelly Angus who is another 'secondment' from Northumberland NHS. Mrs Angus is an interesting character who sits at the intersection of the bullying epidemic in Northumberland Council. More of that at another time though. There are at least two more Employment Tribunal cases heading for court and at least one of them names, the deadly duo - Jackson and Lally as defendants. Both involve more allegations of bullying. 

There are at least two private legal actions which both involve bullying allegations and shocking allegations of unlawful actions There are at least four other 'senior officers' both past and present considering legal actions against the council for.... bullying. 

There are a growing number of external investigations due to report soon and EY, the council's external auditors have identified 5 serious value for money risks relating to five policies introduced by Jackson and his gang. We wonder when he's going to add 'secondments from the NHS to those serious risks. 

So what have we got?? 

We have a high court action, county court actions, employment tribunals, investigations by the auditor, secret investigations by the council, all tied together by one disgraceful strand - BULLYING under this administration since May 2017. No doubt it will be all dismissed by Lord Haw Haw (Cllr Nick Oliver) as a conspiracy but ask yourself - can everyone be wrong and Jackson and his gang right? Remember we've seen no evidence to declare innocence and we've seen plenty of lies. 

This is why, in all seriousness, an independent investigation, conducted by an outside body into allegations of corruption, unlawful behaviour and actions and..... bullying. If this council, Jackson and his gang are against an independent investigation ask yourself why? What are they hiding? 

If you're answer is don't tackle the allegations of systemic bullying across the council then the mirror awaits you. 

Northumberland deserves better than this.    

How the scales of justice will affect the council budget £24m Tory cuts are the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg.

Jackson and some of his band 

 The first real Jackson budget facing Northumberland is a predictably slippery one. But we should at least be thankful that it's published and not kept away from public view like the Arch accounts after 1 full year of Tory vandalism. 

The top line for the council budget is £24m has to be found at the behest of the twice bankrupt Nick Oliver who now splits his time between dismantling and selling off public assets in Arch and 'fiddling away while the council burns' like Corbridge's answer to Nero. 

So let's look under the £24m figure into the undergrowth where Nick Oliver tries to distract from. Start with the latest external auditor report. 

FIVE serious value for money risks (where is the Chair of Audit I hear you ask) spanning the first year of Jackson and his gang. They are, in no particular order, because they are all serious - The cancellation of the Portland Park project for the new county HQ in Ashington, the cost of the refurbishment of County Hall at Morpeth, the decision to remove the lawful core strategy, the dismantling of Arch and the senior management restructure including the removal of Chief Executive Steven Mason. FIVE significant issues which have and will cost the council significant amounts of money and here's a tip for the readers of this blog - at least one of the audit issues involves an UNLAWFUL act (or acts). All will be revealed in due course.

When you look at EY (the external auditor) report it's enough to set the alarm bells ringing and souls searching. 

How could a council get into this mess in just 15 short months? 

The cancellation of Portland Park project happened within one month of the Jackson gang hostile takeover at Arch and has cost the taxpayer at least £7m to date. £7m to Galliford Try as a down payment on the cancellation/renegotiation of a £32.3m package which would have seen over a thousand good quality jobs in Ashington, helping the High Street and as part of an ambitious plan backed by Tory Sir John Hall to help the town thrive. They've now got a derelict site, no takers for their desperate piece of fake marketing, a cinema and a back of a fag packet plan for unspecified shops to presumably kill off Ashington High Street. 

Arch has gone from a regeneration company to a degeneration company under 'Tricky Dicky Wearmouth', the chair with stakes in more interests than there are weeks in a year. More of that to come in a later post though.

Remember when Jackson and his gang 'spun' their way through Northumberland telling people that new Ashington HQ would cost £80m and he could wave a magic wand, spend £500,000 and turn Morpeth County Hall from a mausoleum into a 21st century office with just a 'lick of paint'. 

Both parts of the 'trick' played on residents turned out to be a lie. 

Firstly, think hard - have you heard Jackson or his band mention £80m since they started on their vandalism of the council and its partners? That's because the real cost was £32.3m which they've already had to pay out a down payment of £7m for nothing at all. Secondly, it turns out the lick of paint now costs over £20m and rising. The Tories are finding this money to make their own 'Morpeth Mausoleum' by cutting £24m of services from the most vulnerable communities across Northumberland and especially targeted in the South East. 

The dodgy decision to remove the core strategy is subject to a legal action and seemingly, it's also being looked at by Northumbria Police. It involves dark dealings, bullying, incompetence, intimidation and criminal actions which residents will see played out in front of them over the next 6 months. What's at stake is £10m of taxpayers cash and the cost of a defence for Jackson and the council's CEO Daljit Lally, an expensive secondment from the hard pressed and under staffed Northumberland NHS. 

One joker said the NHS is understaffed because they've all been seconded to Northumberland County Council. There is also a potential that the council may be found to be vicariously liable for up to £193m of lost value on a planning application targeted by Jackson and his gang. 

EY view of Arch is complex but can be explained simply. The Tories are selling off over £120m worth of assets owned by the tax payer to whoever they wish with zero scrutiny. 

That started in June last year when they decided to stop and flog off investments outside Northumberland. It gave 'Tricky Dicky Wearmouth' a predictable soundbite but what he didn't reveal was the decision started a 'fire sale' of assets worth an estimated £124m. They were land and buildings under the Arch Housing company, Arch Commercial Enterprises and Arch Developments.

We can't scrutinise what's happening as the Tories rush to sell off Arch and turn the rest into effectively a private company with no value to the taxpayer. There are no Arch accounts published even though they've been signed off for nearly two months. We'd urge the Chair of Audit who has taken an unnatural interest in the past operations of Arch to look at the current operations especially how the council can protect its interests given the current structure of the new Arch lodged at Companies House. The Tory actions in Arch have been assisted by CEO Alison Joynson, a doughty community campaigner who opposed Labour's plan to tackle the £6m bill for post 16 transport but also happens to be...…… cue drumroll...…. a secondment from Northumbria NHS Trust. Mrs Joynson may have faced accusations that she was a 'political appointment' given her politically advantageous campaigning for Jackson and the gang in 2015 and 2016 but that remains to be seen. Mrs Joynson is a 'shadowy figure', she doesn't seem to turn up for many Arch Board meetings despite being the CEO. But readers may not know she's also Director for 'Change' and International Projects within the council too along with being second in command to Mrs Lally as deputy CEO. 

We're not sure whether that's a secondment from the NHS or from Arch to the council but you have to admire Mrs Joynson for her work ethic or at least her ability to do four executive roles at the same time. BTW, she's paid £171,000 by the council which also falls within the last 'serious value for money risk' identified by EY. 

We'll finish this section by highlighting one of Mrs Joynson first actions along with the Head of HR Kelly Angus... who is a secondment from the health service. They 'procured' Mr Steve Crosland of Riding Mill based Crosland Consulting to carry out 'investigations' into whatever 'Tricky Dicky Wearmouth' thought was useful in his quest to 'clean up Arch'. After £80,000 spent on Mr Crosland to do his 'Inspector Clouseau' impression and an audit carried out by EY costing an estimated £360,000 (it still hasn't finished like the painting of the Forth Bridge) and a high profile 'police review' started nearly a year ago which has been the centre piece of the Tory smear campaign against Labour politicians and independent contractors, we now await the next expensive, tax payer funded exercise in 'fishing around for no purpose'. As Mr Crosland popped up (he's not surprisingly married to an eminent professional in the NHS) another blast from the past sloped into Arch and Active Northumberland under the guise of a private company called Engage-n-Change. Ken Dunbar was CEO keeping Jackson and some of his current gang under control at Castle Morpeth and a fine job he did too. Now he's a supremo in Arch, arguably the HEAD HONCHO given how thinly Mrs Joynson is spread but he's another 'secondment' this time to Active Northumberland, the council's leisure charity He produced a Crosland type report under the guise of Engage-n-Change which was used to smear Labour politicians by claiming incredulously that the report was 'independent'. One wag observed it was as independent as Cllr Hill, the disgraced Tory spin doctor now masquerading as an 'independent' councillor in Berwick. We presume Mr Dunbar stopped off in Active before he took up the reins (and the 'independent investigations) at Arch. 

The final 'value for money risk' identified by EY is foreshadowed by earlier blogs and the strange case of 'fat cat managerialistis'. Since May 2017, this has spread like a contagion across the council. Jackson and his gang are rumoured to be the hosts and we hope the auditor will be able to administer a serum. We have Daljit Lally at £200k plus a £37k bonus for jetting around the world with her fellow NHS 'refugee' Mrs Joynson. We have the controversial appointment of Paul Johnstone, brought in allegedly to shepherd through the removal of the planning core strategy at the Jackson gang's bidding. He's costing you over £180,000. You've got Mrs Joynson on £171,000 and whatever she's paid at Arch since we can't see Arch salaries anymore in the new era of Jacksonian 'Transparency' in the council. Jackson himself has seen his pay roll in at over £90k despite being an director of an offshore based company, Greenshields Agri and having an interest in at least 5,000 acres of land in Northumberland and Borderlands Scotland. Mr Dunbar is an enigma - all we can find for him is his payment for his 'independent report' into Active worth a cool £26,600 plus VAT. We estimate that Mr Dunbar will be on an equivalent package as Mrs Joynson at £170,000 which could be the reason he's leaving the ship in November. The head of HR Mrs Angus pockets over £90,000 but we shouldn't finish without a mention of the money removing Steven Mason, the former CEO given a glowing testimonial by Jackson and his gang which topped £417,000 and the head of planning who left under a 'settlement agreement' worth a rumoured £50,000. 

So when you see the Jackson 'spin machine' spring into action about the £24m budget cut and how its all Labour's fault think of the eye watering figures revealed above and say to yourself - what if we'd spent that money on services and people not vanity, politics and covering up dodgy decisions.    

Who will be the next Tory leader of Northumberland County Council?

 The Tories told you there would be no legal action - Guess what - another lie from the Cllr for the Isle of Man, Jackson 

High Court of Justice - Business & Property Courts of England & Wales

Claim - PT-2018-000676. 

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part05#5.4C

Same old Tories some people say but that is not true. It's not just Tories that have managed to bring Northumberland County Council to its knees, it's a good old fashioned conspiracy involving the CEO Mrs Lally, Bedlington Independents, the 'unhinged Chair of Audit' Cllr Hill aka 'The Hill tells Lies' and the current leader (of Greenshields Agri) Jackson, the Cabinet member for getting rid of the core strategy, Riddle and the slew of Cllrs representing Ponteland. 

Now the legal action has started and various external agencies are gearing up independent investigations into the questionable actions by the council and a small group of Tory malcontents who have led NCC to the precipice, it seems like an appropriate time to highlight the elephant in the room. 

Who will take over from Jackson and his co-defendants when he is forced to resign? Will the NHS welcome Lally back against the backdrop of a culture of bullying and intimidation the council under her leadership? It's probably easier to highlight those who haven't (as far as we know) engaged in a concerted effort to break the law and waste millions of pounds of council tax payers money. 

The obvious runners and riders who will have to clear up the mess after the 'walls come tumbling down' are 

1.      Glen Sanderson - he's ensured he's been nowhere near the 'witchunts' and although he too voted to withdraw the core strategy last year, we're sure he'll claim that Jackson withheld the legal advice from him too. 

2.      Wayne Daley - he's already started but his transparent move to undermine Hexham's MP over the Bright Tribe fiasco and his 'honest emails' which admit that the Arch investigation 'was just politics' will come back to haunt him. He's also known to crack under pressure and make rash decisions. 

3.      Kath Homer - another safe pair of hands in the Sanderson mould but her 'dodgy investigation' into Active Northumberland undertaken by Engage-n-Change, the so called 'independent consultants' leave open the question why did she pay £26,600 to a director of Arch. But unlike Nick Oliver, the twice bankrupt 'entrepreneur' who is in so deep with the 'witchunt', Kath Homer is only tainted up to the elbow. 

4.      David Bawn - desperately trying to make himself acceptable (see Nick Oliver) to Jackson and if you seen his performance at Full Council, you will see why he couldn't be a leader. A solicitor who puts the solicit in solicitor. 

5.      Tricky Dicky Wearmouth - Two words make him a dodgy choice. Energy Central. He's also overseen a highly partisan investigation into Arch along with his co-pilot in Audit Cllr Hill. Another area where the 'walls are coming tumbling down'. 

Get ready for by-elections galore and fake independents who are propping up Tory unlawful behaviour who will be making statements soon. 

The conspiracy is coming to an end dear resident but unfortunately for you, it will be a dear cost. It could mean bankruptcy which would mean third time unlucky for Nick Oliver, the hapless and lawless 'fall guy'. He's seen two companies go bankrupt now he's going for the hattrick with Northumberland County Council. 

LUGANO GROUP ISSUES WRIT IN THE HIGH COURT

Newcastle property company Lugano Group has now formally served a writ detailing particulars of its claim against Councillor Peter Jackson (Leader of Northumberland County Council), Councillor John Riddle (Portfolio Holder) and on the Chief Executive (Daljit Lally) following documents being issued in the High Court in London. Papers have also been served on Northumberland County Council as it is vicariously liable in the case for their actions.

The Company’s case is that the 3 individuals have acted improperly and unlawfully, abusing their powers and authority as public officers of the Council. It is Lugano’s position that the unlawful conduct of the 3 individuals amounts to Misfeasance in Public Office and as such has caused Lugano a serious financial loss and damages amounting to almost £10 million.

Company owner, Allan Rankin, commented: -

“We have fully and openly detailed our concerns in our previous Letter Before Claim.  Neither the Council nor the individuals concerned have responded to that in any meaningful or material way and our offers to meet on a without prejudice basis have been ignored. In the circumstances, we have now served formal proceedings and will pursue our case with the utmost rigour to ensure these individuals are held to account for their outrageous and unlawful conduct that brings the name and reputation of Northumberland County Council, and indeed local government as a whole, into disrepute.

“We have also referred our concerns and all our supporting evidence to the Police”.

Lugano’s Executive Chairman, Richard Robson, added: -

“Dissington Garden Village is a highly regarded project that will act as a driver of economic growth, a creator of new jobs and a means of delivering much needed affordable homes and infrastructure improvements.  It previously enjoyed the full support of Northumberland County Council and was progressing in line with the Government’s own objective to deliver exemplar Garden Communities until a few individuals sought to unlawfully disrupt the proper planning processes.  Our objective remains to continue to work in partnership with Northumberland County Council to deliver Dissington Garden Village in accordance with the decision of their own strategic Planning Committee; the Government’s Garden Communities Programme and the region’s need to deliver economic growth and homes in sustainable locations and the decision of Northumberland County Council’s own strategic Planning Committee which voted to grant planning permission in March 2017.”