Gavin Webb: Libertarian councillor for Stoke & Trent Vale

A week ago I emailed council leader Ross Irving requesting an explanation on what precisely was happening over the absence of city council Interim Chief Executive Chris Harman:

Dear Councillor Irving

I write to request from you a full briefing – copied to all councillors, local media and posted on stoke.gov.uk – on the situation regarding Chris Harman and the post of Chief Executive.  It has now been nearly three weeks since the new Chief Executive was appointed and as an elected councillor, I have yet to receive any information relating to Chris Harman and any requests he has made for payment from the City taxpayer.

I hope you’ll agree with me that it is not acceptable to keep councillors in the dark and this matter does nothing to engender trust between non-executive and executive councillors, or indeed between the City Council and the public.

Based on my own intuition and the information I’ve seen in the press, I feel that it would highly unacceptable to make any sort of payment to Chris Harman.  The matter seems very straightforward to me – if he wishes to leave the employ of the City Council voluntarily, he deserves no payment.  Of course, I may be entirely unfair or unreasonable in this belief, but until I and other councillors – and therefore the public – has a full understanding of the facts, the only reasonable conclusion that one can come to is to say ‘No’ to any payoff.

I am aware that other councillors are considering calling for a special meeting of the council to demand an explanation from you about this issue and I would happily support such a call.  However, it is not a necessary course of action if you merely provide elected members and the public with information on what is happening.  If you refuse, you are leader of nothing but a secretive cabal that is no better than what went on before.

Councillor Paul Shotton is also included in this email and, as Chair of the Human Resources Committee, maybe he could shed some light on the situation.

Kind regards

Gavin

Gavin Webb, Councillor
Libertarian for Stoke and Trent Vale
07949 026660

Unfortunately, Councillor Irving hasn’t seen fit to reply.

A few days later, I and twenty-one other councillors signed a motion – moved by Peter Kent-Baguley – calling for an Extraordinary Council Meeting to enable all councillors the opportunity to debate the matter:

This Council deplores the lack of information from the Council Leader regarding the absence of the Interim Chief Executive following the appointment on 29th September 2009 of the new Chief Executive, Mr John van de Laarschot, and the secrecy surrounding the issue and further is totally opposed to a pay-off being awarded to the Interim Chief Executive, Mr Chris Harman.

Tomorrow, the Human Resources Committee will meet to discuss whether or not Harman should receive a payoff.  It is speculated by the Sentinel that a compromise agreement may be met to pay Harman £74,000.

As a backbench councillor who has not been party to any of the discussions on this matter, including the Human Resources meeting on 2 October; and who has received no more information other than what I’ve read in the press, I stick by my original view that there should be no payoff for Harman.

If he is ‘compensated’ as per his contract, then there are very serious questions to be answered as to who was responsible for drawing up and agreeing that original contract.

The big question then will be, how many other contracts like Harman’s have been agreed upon by city council officials?