It is 7 months since I took a dive into the numbers of which Councillors are present and who is less so, with my last look at the numbers taking place in November 2023.
Let's recap where things were then, as we have had a number of changes.
The HRA had fewer Councillors, as the 3 Conservatives and 1 Labour representatives had yet to cross the floor. Labour were still in a coalition with the HRA and held some cabinet positions.
This is what attendance looked like in November 2023.
Party | Expected At | Attended | % | Avg Missed Meetings |
HRA | 697 | 609 | 87% | 3.6 |
Lab | 285 | 248 | 87% | 4.1 |
EHRG | 72 | 59 | 82% | 4.3 |
Con | 531 | 419 | 79% | 5.6 |
The disclaimer
Every time I post one of these blogs I have to reiterate this.
Yes, I know turning up to meetings isn't all a Councillor does.
No, I'm not judging anyone for their attendance.
Sure, this is all available on the Council website, but it doesn't hurt it being here.
Some councillors have been very ill.
So, on to the numbers.
Overall Attendance
The average Councillor has
Been expected at 39.5 meetings since the elections in May 2022 - 1.57 per month
Has attended 33.25 meetings (83%) - 1.33 per month
Using an average meeting length of 2 hours, I conclude that the average Councillor has been in meetings for 66.5 hours since the elections in 2022. For this they have been paid a minimum of £21,691 (pre-tax), which is roughly £326.18 per hour.
Yes, I know meetings is not all a Councillor does....
The Political Groups
To the always juicy bit. Which group has the best attendance?
So, as a start, we have a new group in this data. Cllrs Tyler and Ruck departed the HRA to form an Independent Resident's Group (IRG, not to be confused with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard). One suspects that this group won't last long and will reabsorb back into the HRA. We watch closely.
The Conservatives remain the poorest performing major party. However, the newly formed IRG stand out as having the worst attendance.
Party | Expected At | Attended | % | Avg Missed Meetings |
HRA | 1057 | 920 | 85% | 5.48 |
Con | 608 | 482 | 79% | 7.41 |
Lab | 348 | 302 | 87% | 5.75 |
EHRG | 98 | 82 | 82% | 5.33 |
IRG | 61 | 43 | 77% | 9 |
Group averages
Party | Expected At | Attended | % |
HRA | 42.48 | 36.8 | 85% |
Con | 35.76 | 28.35 | 79% |
Lab | 43.5 | 37.75 | 87% |
EHRG | 32.66 | 27.33 | 82% |
IRG | 30.5 | 21.5 | 77% |
Top Performers
Who has the best attendance?
I've broken this down into two catergories. Highest % and most attended.
Highest %
Just 3 Councillors maintain their perfect 100% attendance record, down from 5 last time. In alphabetical order they are;
Gerry O'Sullivan - HRA
Jacqueline Williams - HRA
Martin Goode - EHRG
Most attended
Taking the top 10 Councillors, they have been expected at an average of 60.4 meetings and attended an average of 54.9 (91%).
The high attendance % is important because there is little value in being expected at a lot of meetings if you don't turn up.
Councillor | Party | Expected At | Attended | % | Missed |
Bryan Vincent | HRA | 72 | 62 | 86% | 10 |
Gerry O'Sullivan | HRA | 59 | 59 | 100% | 0 |
David Taylor | Cons | 63 | 57 | 90% | 6 |
Ray Morgon | HRA | 61 | 57 | 93% | 4 |
Julie Wilkes | HRA | 60 | 56 | 93% | 4 |
Laurance Garrard | HRA | 66 | 55 | 83% | 11 |
Christine Smith | HRA | 59 | 54 | 92% | 5 |
Gillian Ford | HRA | 58 | 52 | 90% | 6 |
Christopher Wilkins | HRA | 53 | 49 | 92% | 4 |
Patricia Brown | Lab | 53 | 48 | 91% | 5 |
The Cabinet
In a change from looking at the Committee Chairmen, I'm shining the spotlight on the Cabinet today. These members are, arguably, the most important in Havering as they have control over budgets and the direction of departments.
These figures are for the Cabinet Councillors during their entire term, not just their role as a Councillor. All Cabinet members are HRA. With Labour having left the coalition, some Cabinet members have changed. Labour's Keith Darvill has been replaced by the HRA's Natasha Summers. Paul McGeary left Labour and joined the HRA, retaining his Cabinet position.
As a whole the cabinet have an average attendance of 90%. They have been expected at an average of 49.55 meetings and attended 44.77.
Cabinet Members are paid an additional £25,000 for their role, on top of the basic £10,412.
There is no minimum attendance required to be in such a senior position and in receipt of an additional £25,000 a year.
Councillor | Cabinet Role | Expected At | Attended | Missed | % |
Ray Morgon | Leader | 61 | 57 | 4 | 93% |
Gillian Ford | Deputy Leader / Adults and Wellbeing | 58 | 52 | 6 | 90% |
Christopher Wilkins | Finance | 53 | 49 | 4 | 92% |
Graham Williamson | Regeneration | 48 | 46 | 2 | 96% |
Paul Middleton | Digital Transformation / Customer Service | 47 | 46 | 1 | 98% |
Oscar Ford | Children & Young People | 45 | 41 | 4 | 91% |
Barry Mugglestone | Environment | 41 | 39 | 2 | 95% |
Natasha Summers | Climate Change and Housing Need | 46 | 33 | 13 | 72% |
Councillor's Pay
As I said at the opening, being a Councillor is about more than just turning up to meetings. But, it's the only measure we have.
Taking into consideration the basic allowance paid to Councillors, of £10,412, Councillors have been paid £21,691 since the election (pre-tax). Some will have taken home much more, if they are in receipt of a Special Responsibility Allowance such as being a Chairmen of Cabinet Member.
Cabinet Members will have received £73,775.
Based on an average attendance of 33.25 meetings, at 2 hours per meeting (totalling 79 hours) the average Councillor is being paid £326.18 per hour. Pre-tax, basic only. This is down from £346.32 per hour in November 2023.
Conclusion
These figures don't tell the whole story.
We can't see who is having personal difficulties that are preventing them from attending. We can't see who is working hard outside of meetings. But, I believe it does show we have a system that is easy to abuse.
Councillors can do nothing for 4 years and still take home their pay.
The reaction to me posting this sort of information shows us another thing. The swamp is full of people who don't want to do anything about it. I find it no surprise that, whenever I point out this broken system, the first reaction from my 'political opponents' is to cry that this wasn't fixed when Conservatives were in power.
That may be so, but it's not an excuse to keep a broken system.
I'm going to spend the entirety of my term highlighting the issues we have.
Scrutiny starts with self, this is why I publish my full payslip and taxes, with a breakdown on my hours. You can see these at Payslips (davidtaylor.online)
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