Issue - meetings

To receive questions from members of the public who may wish to ask a general question of the Mayor, Cabinet Member or the Chairman of a Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.

(1)  Mr. Thirlwall asked the Leader to tell him whether the Council had an anti-nepotism policy. The Leader confirmed that there was no specific anti-nepotism policy but allegations of nepotism would be dealt with under the Officer Code of Conduct for members of staff with conflicts of interest with regards to recruitment. For Elected Members, matters regarding the Nolan Principles would fall under the Member Code of Conduct.

In his supplementary question, Mr. Thirlwall explained the definition of nepotism. He stated that the Leader had appointed his spouse, Councillor Hoddinott, to the role of Cabinet Member with an allowance of £13,000 per year. He asked whether the Leader thought he was guilty of nepotism and if the relationship should be declared on both Councillor’s Register of Interest. Mr. Thirlwall went on to state that Councillor Hoddinott had been deemed unfit to be a Cabinet Member by Louise Casey in 2015 and as such the Leader should explain why Councillor Hoddinott was the best person for this job.

In response the Leader confirmed that Cabinet Members were appointed on merit and that he was lucky to be able to choose from a selection of high quality Councillors with national experience. He gave the example of Councillor Alam who had previously worked with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission; Councillor Roche who was a former advisor to the DFE and Councillor Hoddinott who was a current national local government officer for a national political party. The Leader explained that it would be an error on his part not to use the best talent available to him to serve the Borough. The Leader also explained that at the Centre for Public Scrutiny Conference 2 or 3 years ago, Louise Casey spoke about Rotherham Council and said that there were good people at Rotherham Council, specifically mentioning Councillor Hoddinott who had been scapegoated for the failings of those that gone before her. The Leader pointed out that those that had gone before Councillor Hoddinott included people like Mr. Thirlwall. The Leader also explained that Louise Casey had described his leadership as outstanding on more than one occasion and that they had made extraordinary progress on improving the Council. The Leader stated that Councillor Hoddinott had done an excellent job for the people of Rotherham by delivering major roads improvements and transport improvements. It was confirmed that the Council had been in intervention long before Councillor Hoddinott’s appointment due to the politicisation of road improvement decisions. Councillor Hoddinott had also led a huge change in household bin collections and introduced the maternity/paternity policy. The Leader explained that the Borough was a better place for women because of the work Councillor Hoddinott had done with sex establishments. The Leader was proud of Councillor Hoddinott’s achievements as Cabinet Member and confirmed that she had not accepted any of her Special Responsibility Allowance for her work as a Cabinet Member and as such there had been no financial benefit to his household.

(2)  Mr. Felstead asked a question  ...  view the full minutes text for item 452