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Lifting the Lid Part 6A - Betley Bonfire Committee Accounts and Transparency

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  Resident Response to piece on Betley Bonfire Committee by resident: 'Heaven forbid that a group of local volunteers should get together to organise an event enjoyed by thousands and which raises money for local good causes and organisations without some interfering busybody with too much time on their hands deciding it should be done her way, rather than the way that has worked for years. The bonfire committee is a voluntary organisation and how it chooses to operate is for them to decide.' From Anonymous. ********* The above is a response from 'Anonymous' to the blog re the piece recently posted on the Bonfire Committee.   The issues raised in the blog are, however, issues that residents in the parish are also raising.  However, the above comment appears to be missing the point.   It is unfortunate, however, if reasonable questions are viewed as ‘interference’ and ‘busy-bodying’, when they are in fact a normal part of ensuring openness and maintaining tr...
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Lifting the Lid Part 6: Bonfire Committee Funding and Transparency

  Some Points for Clarification  The Bonfire Committee’s support for local community groups, including the Parish Council, is an important contribution and is recognised as such and appreciated within the community. At the same time, the scale and regularity of some awards, particularly where public bodies are involved, make it reasonable to seek a clearer understanding of how these funds are allocated and reported. It is understood that the Parish Council has been a recurring recipient of funding, in some cases involving substantial sums.  However, the basis on which such awards are determined is not always evident from publicly available information.  This gives rise to questions regarding the criteria applied, how decisions are reached, and how such arrangements sit alongside the Parish Council’s own funding mechanisms. There also appears to be some uncertainty regarding the disclosure of grant amounts. Where expectations exist around confidentiality, it w...
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Lifting the Lid Part 5: Follow Your Money - Accounting

  For some time now people have been raising issues relating to  Parish Council governance, transparency, and decision-making.  Written below is a summary of a series of recurring concerns raised by residents, and those who have observed, from the inside, Parish Council financial administration, governance processes, and the transparency of decision-making. While each matter may be capable of explanation in isolation, the cumulative picture has led to wider questions about the consistency with which established procedures are applied and documented and the way in which this parish is governed. The intention here is to set out some of these issues clearly and to highlight areas where improved clarity, accountability and transparency may be necessary to maintain public confidence.  It is not intended to attribute fault, necessarily, to any individual.   1. External donations and financial recording A donation from the Betley Bonfire Committee was mad...
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Anonymous, Observer and the Betley Poison Pen

       It is unfortunate that in every community there are individuals who engage in persistent and often anonymous attempts to undermine others.  Such behaviour rarely involves open dialogue or accountability.   Instead, it tends to rely on misrepresentation, group pressure, harassment and intimidation, all of which are efforts to exclude or diminish those who hold different views. This blog, on occasion, attracts a small number of anonymous comments (for publication) who appear unwilling to engage constructively with what is written. There is a noticeable difficulty in acknowledging alternative perspectives, particularly those which challenge established or group-held views.  Rather than debate, the response can take the form of coordinated criticism intended to discredit or silence. This is a pattern that leans more toward pressure than discussion. In recent academic commentary on social behaviour, such patterns have been described as ‘poisonous...
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 Last week I received a response to one of the Blog pieces below from a Judy Bettley-Smith.   Part of it is worth reproducing here and in order to make sense of my response .  I felt a response on this occasion was needed: '''''''''''' 'Do you ever look at anything in a positive light? What have you achieved that has had a positive and beneficial impact? You just seem to enjoy trying to find fault wherever possible. What a sad way to live.' ''''''''''  I felt a response on this occasion was needed: Dear Mrs Bettley-Smith Thank you for your comments which you recently submitted to the AboutWrinehill Blog. I was disappointed to read them, as they came across as unnecessarily personal and dismissive.  I believe it is important that discussions about local matters remain respectful and focused on issues of importance and relevance to the Parish rather than individuals. My original comments w...
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Lifting the Lid Part 4 - Asset Registers and Risk Assessments

  Betley Parish Council Asset Register Each year local Councils are expected to update their Asset Register.   The Asset Register is part of the end of year accounting process so this needs to be addressed.   Parish Councils are not excluded from this exercise. An asset has several contexts:   it can be financial, business or personal.   In   a governance scenario all three appear to be enshrined in the term Asset and this would include any item with a long-term existence, purchased with public funds, which needs to be accounted for – whether it is cash/property- land/ equipment/ investments, Xmas lights/Xmas animals/SIDs and poles/statues/poppies/war memorials/benches/picnic tables/notice boards/display boards/ loudhailers/laptops /apps and other peripheral hard and software. For accounting purposes assets are listed on a company’s/Council’s balance sheet as either current assets (cash etc) or non-current assets (buildings, machinery and other tangib...
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At Last

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 Well finally,  I am delighted to report something positive - that Staffordshire County Council Highways Department is getting around to dealing with the constant flooding in Wrinehill . It appears to be carrying out all the repair and remedial work suggested (by the wrongfully defamed Councillor) and the land owner (who was being vilified)  in 2023.   Had action been taken in a timely manner so much inconvenience and damage to the road and verges and personal property  could have been avoided.   It is also amazing and salutary that all the mud was recently cleared by a local resident. This work also highlights the mis/disinformation that was circulating at the time regarding the cause of the flooding and confusing and getting in the way of a remedy - ie it was the fault of the the HS2 project and that it should be the one to take responsibility (and pay for any damage) etc..  That, in my view, was potentially libellous, and certainly rub...
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