Leicester Mercury political correspondent
Quangoland
Soundtrack to success
Dec 16th
The new hold music when you call up the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) is one of the same pieces of classical music featured on The Apprentice.
If you weren’t aware, EMDA is being wound-down by the Government over the next couple of years, to be replaced with vague-sounding Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Many of the staff at EMDA will be made redundant during this time.
Perhaps a touch unwise, then, to use the music from a TV programme with the catchphrase “You’re Fired!”
Did cabinet make the right decision on Phoenix bailout?
Sep 8th
Was the bailout of the Phoenix the right thing to do?
Because around £7 million has already been ploughed into the centre by the authority so far, to let it fail for the sake of a fraction of that figure wouldn’t appear to make sense. Senior figures at the Phoenix and council must now make sure that the overhaul of the centre puts it on a firm financial footing for the future. A second bailout would be hard to stomach, and I’ve had word from several cabinet members that they would oppose any attempt by Phoenix to come to the council cap in hand for a second time.
However you could speculate whether – in the long run – refusing the cash would have saved the council money in the long run.
Let me explain.
I was talking to a colleague in the newsroom, and I said that if I was put in charge of any project linked to the council I would know deep down that I could run it beyond its means, confident that if it ran into trouble there was a council safety net to rescue those involved.
Taking a stand and refusing cash to Phoenix Square would have been a major decision, but it would have served as a warning to board members elsewhere for decades to come that the taxpayer purse wouldn’t always be opened by the council to prop up a struggling enterprise.
Just a thought.
Kitterick’s comments
Sep 6th
I remember touring the Phoenix Centre back in February when the then culture secretary Ben Bradshaw came to the city.
Patrick Kitterick, who was city regeneration chief at the time, pulled me to one side and remarked: “The Mercury did loads of stories about Curve because of the money troubles and delay, but the Phoenix was a success story so you lot weren’t interested.”
I just happened to recall this comment as I put the finishing touches to Tuesday’s front page on the Phoenix’s £250,000 emergency bailout, less than a year after it opened.
Where did it all go wrong?
Sep 5th
As you’re no doubt well aware, Phoenix Square is in financial crisis. Without a £250,000 bail out from the city council today it is likely to go bust.
One thing that I find particularly interesting is the make-up of the board. It is easy to make the assumption that those in charge are likely to be the usual faces on the merry-go-round of local boards, committees and panels. But you’d be wrong.
At first glance, it’s pretty impressive. It includes Microsoft’s lead UK technology adviser, the founder of the UK Youth Parliament, two professors and a handful of film and culture enthusiasts.
But you can have all the experts you can find in charge of the Phoenix, but when they still haven’t figured out that it’s worth putting a cinema sign above the door for the cinema, for example, you can see why question marks bubble up over their judgement.
SKETCH: Distracted, the councillors jabbed their USB sticks
Jul 14th
- COUNTY HALL – Wednesday July 14 – 2pm
A few weeks ago I took my gran along to the Apple store in Leicester to show her an iPad.
My fingers danced across the shiny screen, I blitzed through folders full of photos to show her its capabilities, and urged her to hold it in her hands to feel how light it was.
“That’s all very well,” she said, “but why is it any better than my laptop?”
Skip forward a month or so and Prospect Leicestershire chairman Nick Carter sat before a panel of around 12 scrutinising councillors.
A jazzy promotional video was projected onto a screen.
A brochure was handed out which contained so many giant fonts it looked like it had been delivered direct from the large print section of the Pork Pie Library.
Even USB sticks were dished out to the assembled councillors. “What on earth is this?” muttered one elderly sage.
It was an Apple-style all singing, all dancing performance. But it wasn’t enough for Bill Boulter (Lib Dem, South Wigston).
“That’s all very well, but I think other organisations can do your job cheaper.”
Ouch. But to be honest, it was the closest we came to any real scrutiny during this hour or so.
Dr Kevin Feltham (Con, Gartree) basted Nick with compliments about how “nimble” the agency was. Then he kept repeating it. The word lost its meaning for a second. Nimble is a word you’d use to describe a sprightly safari animal, not a development agency.
As Nick talked about Prospect, Dr Feltham responded with kind of happy groans and syrupy smile you’d make on slipping into a hot bath after an exhausting day.
Hyperactive Peter Lewis, (Con, Loughborough South West) did a little better. He enthusiastically tackled the issue of Prospect’s brochure having too many city pictures in it, and not enough county snaps. He also roasted the promotional video as pointless.
But it would have taken a fair amount of ineptitude to flail in front of this committee, and Nick never swam near any trouble.
When awkward issues were raised (why do most districts get very little in return for the £18k they throw into the pot each year) he stroked his facial hair and nodded earnestly before responding in-depth.
Chief executive David Hughes – wearing a dark orange tie which almost matched his tanned exterior – was able to take a back seat as he watched the chairman deal with each of the questions capably.
In fact, David looked so bored with the entire thing that his files and papers were piled up ready to go before the final question had been answered.
“Come back soon,” members of committee chimed, as the pair got up to leave.
But by then a couple of older councillors were already distracted, jabbing their shiny new USB sticks with a sense of bafflement.
Get Carter
Jul 12th
What have you done in the past year?
The former Mercury editor will sit alongside Prospect chief executive David Hughes to outline the publicly-funded organisation’s plans for the future.
At a time of savage cuts to public spending, the question of whether it will duplicate the work of the new Local Enterprise Partnerships will surely arise.
But one issue I’d really like to see brought up is the issue of openness.
Despite being bankrolled by taxpayer cash (with a staff budget of £1 million) Prospect is keen to point out on its website that it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
But, the website assures us, Prospect Leicestershire:
“…wishes to operate in a spirit of openness, and will be pleased to respond to information requests under our own Publication Scheme.”
So I lodged a ‘Spirit of Openness’ request on January 31 this year, asking for copies of executive credit card statements for the most recently available 12 month period.
More than five months on, I’m still waiting…
6PM UPDATE: Nick has been in touch to say the request will be chased up.
What does the East Midlands Regional Assembly do?
Mar 30th
According to their website:
“It provides the strategic focus for integrating the development and delivery of regional strategy and partnership working under the overarching framework of the Integrated Regional Strategy.”
An early entrant for my inaugural public sector gobbledygook award…
