The unanswered questions…

Hemsworth Town Council invited members of the public to attend an Extraordinary Meeting on 12 October 2021, where they would answer any questions put to them.

They invited questions to be sent in prior to the meeting, which Ferret did via email as requested. Mr Draper – Clerk, confirmed they had been received on 11 October 2021.

Ferret was very disappointed that the majority of the questions submitted were not answered on the evening, however Mr Kenyon did state ““We will write an answer to these questions but it may take some time”.

I will leave this post as a reminder, with the questions below.

I will update the post as soon as the answers are sent by Hemsworth Town Council…

Questions

Can and will the Chair – Mr Jim Kenyon, provide written proof of his many claimed qualifications?

Following the Frenkel report commissioned by this Council at a cost of £6000, that was only partially released following a Freedom of Information request, that found no reason for this Council not to sign off the previous accounts:

Will the Chair – Mr Jim Kenyon, now apologise publicly to all the people He has slandered and libelled over the last 10 years?

Will Hemsworth Town Council now release the redacted part of the Frenkel report? If not, why not?

Will the Chair – Mr Jim Kenyon now act with decency and morality and resign as a Councillor following the exposure of his lying?

Why didn’t this Council keep its election pledge and refund £200000 to the precept payers in their first year in office?

During the Covid lockdown year, this Council suffered very little loss of income and it actually received more precept than in the previous year from the Community. Additionally, services were not provided and because of this, its finances became more stable following the losses in the first year. Why then did you again not use this money to refund the £200000 outstanding election pledge you made to the precept payers?

You must have read the legal advice by a specialist Queens Counsel, given to the previous council regarding the former Sports Complex off Kirkby Road, as the now Town Clerk – Mr Draper was a councillor then and is fully aware of it, having voted to follow it. So, why are you pursuing the litigation with Saul construction when you are very unlikely to win?

I believe, even your recent legal advice has given you very little chance of winning the case. Your costs for the hearing will amount to £105,000 not including the costs you have already paid to Richard Buxton Solicitors for their services so far. Do you believe this is the real reason they would like the litigation to continue?

Even if you win in the first instance, can you share with us the predicted costs that will fall on this Community should the highly probable restitution be awarded by the Court, payable to Saul Construction Limited?

Why did this council change from a predominately BACS payment system which is accountable and transparent to a system that has seen:

• A dramatic increase in petty cash payments?
• A dramatic increase in cash book payments?
• Hemsworth Town Council previously he held “Quality Status”. Why did this Council lose quality status?

Is this because it required higher levels of accounting and auditing that could only be of benefit for the security of our Community cash and assets?

When the Lakeside Café Bar accounts failed to balance, why did Hemsworth Town Council change accountants to Mr Simon Knee?

Can you please explain the process behind how Hemsworth Town Council appointed Mr Simon Knee? The same Mr Simon Knee who was Secretary at A.G.& H.G. GROUNDWORKS LIMITED which is owned by Councillor Gordon Eccles and his wife Jean.

What is Hemsworth Town Council’s procurement policy?  Where is it published online? And if it isn’t Why not?

Why was the Plant Machinery (£42000) unlawfully purchased, bought and paid for, before authorisation by the Council?

Why did Hemsworth Town Council decide to buy, rather than rent, the plant machinery?

What is this machinery intended to be used for?

Who is driving the machinery?

How many members of staff at Hemsworth Town Council are fully trained in its use?

How much does this training cost per person?

Who approved this spending and who takes overall responsibility for it?

How was it decided that we would have the Vengaboys concert and how was it determined that the public you serve wanted it?

How much has been spent so far on the Vengaboys concert? Which source of funding has been used to pay for it?

How many tickets have been sold and what is the total revenue received so far?

200 tickets have been sold so far.

How many tickets have been refunded?

How will all the added extras for the concert be financed?

Who has signed off on the financing of this concert and who takes overall responsibility for the success/failure and financing of it?

Why didn’t the Council put out the Vengaboys Concert for public consultation prior to booking the acts and employing an events manager, when the expense involved is enormous?

Why are the Precept payers being asked to pay twice for this Concert? Once by paying an estimated £80,000 for the Concert costs from their Precept and again by having to purchase a ticket at £32?

Why did this Council fail to put in place any form of Insurance for the Venga Boys Concert in case of cancellation etc.?

Why was the decision made to close the Waterpark to the majority of the Township during a holiday period?

Why did you have no Business plan, risk mitigation assessments or public consultation prior to the conversion of the Lakeside Café, which you instructed the Clerk to do at “whatever the cost”?

Why is the WhatsApp phone number registered to the Lakeside’s Facebook page the same as the one published on the Council’s website for security?

Why has there been a gate erected at the Hoyle Mill Road entrance to the Waterpark?

Was legal advice taken before the access highway to the Waterpark was gated? If so please release it.

Was a Court Order applied for and granted to enable the closure, if so by whom and when?

Was legal advice taken on the suitability of a Councillor being the Key holder especially when he has a vested interest? If so please release it.

Was Legal advice taken before community funds were spent on:

Land at Kinsley (formerly the Farmers) now owned by Councillor Eccles?

Councillor Hardacres’ Garden?

Mr Kenyon stated it was in return for his hard work at the Waterpark with the raised beds, he had to be corrected by Mr Hardacre that it was because he was a pensioner and had paid his £5 so was entitled to it. 

A laptop bought by precept money for Councillor Jean Eccles? – What is this used for?

Maintenance work on the stream adjacent to Craven House, which is the responsibility of the adjacent land owner Councillor Eccles?

Has legal advice been taken on the use of Councillors’ companies for the provision of items and services? If so please release it. If not why not?

Why did Councillor Eccles charge for car parking on the farmers’ site that had been cleared by Hemsworth Town Council and in doing so break the agreement made at the Policy and Planning Committee Meeting on 2 October 2019?

Why are Hemsworth Town Council not using this site, now the main car park is out of action?

Why did Councillors Womersley and Kenyon lie to their community as to their knowledge of the development next to the Woodlands estate in the meeting on 5 August 2021 at Hemsworth Community Centre?

Who took the decision to hold a further meeting on 28 September 2021 without advertising it to all residents in the Township?

Why are the Council proposing to set up lay people groups to oppose the development, when they should be aware that only recognised planning objections will succeed and the best way to ensure that happens is to employ Planning experts with the qualifications the courts will recognise to explore every available avenue? There are planning experts as near as Pontefract.

Why is there a reluctance to do this, but the Council can throw endless money at solicitors for their own purposes?

Why did this Hemsworth Town Council remove the safeguards that had been put into the standing orders by the previous council, where assets of value would have to undergo public consultation and a public referendum to which they would agree to be bound by the result, before they could be disposed of?

The old peoples centre at Fitzwilliam, was taken over by the last council from the previous trustees who were WMDC. It was taken over due to the condition it had deteriorated into through insufficient funding and to bring it back to the community, who originally bought and financed it from stoppages from their wages at Hemsworth Colliery. Hemsworth town council itself became the Trustees with agreement from WMDC and the N.U.M. Hemsworth Town Council became the registered owners at the Land Registry on its transfer. A management committee was formed consisting of the councillors. The management committee report back to the Council who then approve or otherwise any decisions they have made. The Council remains in control financially and every other way, of the centre even though it is in a Trust. Hemsworth Waterpark is now owned by the people, run for the people, and financed by the people through the council, who are answerable to the people. Anyone who promises outside funding will be available should be treated with the contempt they deserve and their words put with all the other broken and false statements that we have heard from this council.

So, when there has been no known attempt since its creation to dispose of the Waterpark, except one current councillor who has stated he wants it. What benefit is there in giving away the park to a trust, even if one set up in the same way as the Fitzwilliam centre, when the Waterpark is under full council control now?

Why after all these years has the idea of a trust for the Waterpark suddenly emerged?

What are you doing to support the needy in our immediate area? How are you supporting them, in addition to Easter eggs and selection boxes for the children and the very few meals you provided during lockdowns?

Which food banks have you supported as a Council and how?

Which charities have you supported as a Council and how?

How do you as a Council decide which causes to support?

Can you provided us with a list of all the causes you have helped since taking office in 2019 and the amounts awarded to each?

How have you designed appropriate engagement activities to get to know your whole community, and to communicate effectively?

How have you sought the views of the whole community and how has this input shaped projects?

How have you been creative in deciding the best ways to gather community input?

In what ways have you made sure you understand your whole community i.e. to encourage them to express their experiences and opinions?

How have you made sure everyone (and anyone) can participate in engagement activities, and made to feel that they can share their views and concerns without fear, and that their views are valued?

Specifically, how have you engaged with those in the community who are not the ones you are very familiar with?

What barriers have you considered which could prevent people from attending council engagement events and how have you tried to remove these barriers?

How has modern technology been best used to facilitate council activities, communicate with the community and gather information?

It’s clear you have the technology and the audience to screen meetings online – last time there were 60 viewers at one point – So why are all Hemsworth Town Council meetings not streamed online and recorded?

The Council reviewed and adopted the Equality Statement at the Annual Council Meeting in May 21, without any discussion or changes.  Councillors have since attended an Equality and Diversity training course. Considering the councillor’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010:

Do Councillors believe that the current Council’s Equality Statement captures enough of their legal duties and is effectively applied in all Council matters, to avoid legal challenges?

Can you please provide us with some examples of changes you have made following your training to ensure you meet your obligations to both your employees and the public under the Equality Act 2010?

Why have certain Councillors, Mr Womersley being one example, chosen to remove their online presence (Facebook) and actively worked to delete their posting history?

Does Hemsworth Town Council condone bullying of employees in any shape or form?

What is the procedure if a member of staff reports they are being bullied by another member of staff or a Councillor? Is this in a Policy?

As a Council do you actively use Social Media to gather evidence against employees when they are signed off sick by their Doctor?

In a recent tribunal case “Sharon Holmes vs Hemsworth Town Council” which Hemsworth Town Council lost, the Chair – Mr Jim Kenyon submitted as evidence photographs of Mrs Homes he had taken from her Facebook page. Mrs Holmes was signed of sick at the time by her Doctor. Can Mr Jim Kenyon explain why he felt it was appropriate to comment to fellow Councillors and a Barrister “Does this look like a woman who is depressed to you?”.

It is clear there is a lot of worry in the community about how Council business is being conducted. How do you intend to address this?

If we as Precept payers in the Township remain dissatisfied in both your conduct and continuing poor decision making who can we contact externally to report this?