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'HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD'
Trafford Council's Code of Arms

'If for any reason whatsoever, moral standards are conspicuously, and unprecedentially breached in one area of society, such as the political, it will follow as night the day that those standards will start collapsing all down the line - in sports, entertainment, education, the armed forces, business and government.' Margaret Halsey

When I was first elected a councillor in 1992, the majority of my questions or queries raised with officers of the Authority or with fellow members had usually been courteously responded to even when on occasions no action was possible or even required. The cohesion of the Labour group as a corporate decision making body had definitely been more equitable and inclusive in those early days, although as in all established groups there had always been a modicum of cronyism. Individual executive members were now holding the various portfolios and were working exclusively with an ever-diminishing number of executive officers - this situation created greater and greater remits of responsibility and power for those holding the portfolios. 'My colleague officers', as Cllr Peter Mitchell, then portfolio holder of Lifelong Learning, would proclaim at a group meeting. This perception had the effect that the democratic decision making process of the whole group was now being severely tested and curtailed, to the point at which the only duty demanded of backbenchers, was be to 'blindly' and 'obediently' support the leadership's decisions - Or was it the 'colleague officers' decisions?

By 2000, a 'symbiosis' in the education department seemed to have developed between the Chris Pratt, Val Stacey, and the respective executive member Cllr Peter Mitchell, which would turn out to have serious consequences for us at LCHS. It was widely perceived in the Town Hall and by members that Chris Pratt was unable to take decisions without first consulting with Val Stacey. Indeed, post the Trafford LEA OFSTED Inspection in Jan 2000, (Documentary evidence - Pre. 5) Val Stacey had been 'headhunted' by Rochdale MBC, a neighbouring Authority. The chief executive had informed me that Chris Pratt had refused to let Val Stacey go. Cllr Peter Mitchell, who always appeared to be listening to any request or complaint from a member, would usually side with either of these two officers' decisions. The general lack of detailed information and the 'secrecy' surrounding certain educational issues and decisions would allow for some questionable practices against individuals. The leadership even when alternate views were expressed by one of us always praised the actions of these officers.

Within eighteen months of gaining 'Best Council of the Year', TMBC had a serious overspend, needing to dip deeper and deeper into the council's 'Reserves'. When the Labour group was informed of the potential financial disaster of a projected deficit in the region of 8 million pounds, our leaders firmly put the blame on the incompetence of some of our top officers. Curiously Chris Pratt would remain protected and further promoted from director to senior executive officer. The group was informed that some of the senior officers would have to go; even the Government was blamed for not allocating sufficient finance. There seemed to be a blame shifting onto others rather than looking at our monitoring and 'housekeeping', for even given unexpected and emergency expenses our spending seemed to have gone out of control....

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