SBC: Cabinet Performance Ratings

SBC: Cabinet Performance Ratings

In response to a request from a number of Scarborough Borough Councillors, the North Yorks Enquirer has agreed to publish the following Open Letter to the Leader of Scarborough Borough Councillor and his seven Portfolio Holders – the Cabinet.

Readers will be aware that modern private sector corporate organisations, in the interests of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, operate systems of self-assessment relating to specifically defined targets. Indeed, senior management officials in the public sector also report annually on performance and achievement.

The present Open Letter seeks the same yardstick by which to evaluate the competency of the Leader and his Cabinet.

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Dear Scarborough Borough Council Leader & Portfolio Holders of the Cabinet,

SBC Performance Management

All of us, from the supermarket checkout to the city “High Flyers”, are judged on our performance against criteria pertaining to the job. Our Council Officers and Councillors are no different. In fact, there is a greater onus of responsibility for them to meet the job specification simply because they are public servants – that is, they are there to serve.

In this case, we would like to know how our Decision Makers and Portfolio Holders in the Cabinet rate themselves against their published job roles. (See PDF document, below). For the purposes of this letter, we will select only a few key roles for each of our Decision Makers. One could, of course, as normal practice, ask them to rate themselves against all the descriptors in their job roles.

We must also bear in mind that Council Officers only work at the behest of elected representatives, i.e. Councillors, and therefore we are entitled to ask the question; where does the buck;

1. Start?
2. Stop?

Not difficult, is it?

Surely, those we elect must be open, honest, available and scrutinised. We leave readers to draw conclusions about,

1. Culpability for decisions taken?
2. Competence in meeting delegated

Self-Assessment Template

We would, as a start, and in the interests of fairness and due process, ask members of the Cabinet to rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 in respect of carrying out each of the following functions, where 1 = Poor and 5 = Excellent.

 

The Leader – Cllr Bastiman

• Leadership of the Council

 

Finance, Procurement and Legal – Cllr Mallory

• Strategic transportation
• Fraud Prevention and Control
• Corporate Procurement Matters
  

 

Public Health and Housing – Cllr Chatt

• Private Sector Housing Enforcement
• Development of Sustainable Energy Resources
• Care Services for the Elderly and Vulnerable People
• Sustainability

 

Tourism and Culture – Cllr Jenkinson

• Countryside Services
• Development, Operation and Marketing of Tourism and Leisure Services

 

Democracy, Safer and Stronger Communities – Cllr Turner

• Democratic Services
• Local taxation
• Safer and Stronger Communities

 

Human Resources, ICT, Transport services – Cllr Plant

• Performance Management
• Human Resources
• The Administration of Council Car Parks

 

Project Leadership, Harbours, Coastal and Flood Protection – Cllr Cockerill

• Project Leadership
• Harbours
• Coastal Protection
• Flooding

We would ask Cabinet Members, in response to this everyday simple exercise, to put the whitewash brush away and be rigorously honest.

Just print out this web-page, mark your self-assessment rating for each of the categories with a number – 1 through 5, apply your name and initials to the foot of the page, then scan it and send to news@nyenquirer.uk

In many respects, SBC has used more than its fair share of whitewash. We are thinking of Cllr Kenyon-Miller, Cllr Jaconelli, Freeman Savile, and in more recent times, Ben Marriott.

You will be found out by our inspectors, the media and the electorate.

We look forward to your sincere responses.

In good faith,

Representative Borough Councillors who,

in anticipation of likely reprisals,

have accepted advice to retain anonymity.

Scarborough. 15th November. 2016.