SEE IT, STOP IT…

This post features an email response to our local councillor, Adrian Jones, describing a causal link between a foreseeable, avoidable 2012 failure by Wirral Council and a safeguarding emergency happening right now.

Please read on…

From: Paul Cardin 
Date: Tue, Jun 5, 2018 at 8:13 PM
Subject: Re: Safeguarding matter
To: “Jones, Adrian ER. (Councillor)” <adrianjones@wirral.gov.uk>
Cc: “Davies, Phil L. (Councillor)” <phildavies@wirral.gov.uk>, georgedavies@wirral.gov.uk, paulhayes@wirral.gov.uk, lesleyrennie@wirral.gov.uk, ianlewis@wirral.gov.uk, stevefoulkes@wirral.gov.uk, “Robinson, Eric” <ericrobinson@wirral.gov.uk>, amy.bryan@reading.gov.uk, jo.lovelock@reading.gov.uk

Amended Email re: hidden names within Anna Klonowski Report

Dear Councillor Jones,

Many thanks for your quick response.  This emergency safeguarding issue refers in part to the following story published in the Wirral Globe on 12th January 2012:

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/9467456.SPECIAL_REPORT__Demand_fo/

Thanks for your suggestion but I do not wish this matter to be dealt with ‘in confidence’ because my own identity is known, and the ongoing concealment of other named persons’ identities would not serve the public interest.  This matter needs airing and I would appreciate yours and Wirral Council’s urgent assistance with that.

To be specific, over 6 years ago, on 30th January 2012, you attended as “responsible portfolio holder” a meeting of the Wirral Council Employment and Appointments Committee.  This followed calls by senior politicians on Wirral for the senior officers involved to resign from their posts.  These resignations did not occur.

Point 59 of this meeting’s agenda entitled “Senior Management Changes” covered the departure only days earlier of two senior Adult Social Services employees, Maura Noone and Mike Fowler.

These names had been consistently hidden long after the two employees departed and were not revealed until the council released a key to anonymised names on 20th February 2012 linked to investigator Anna Klonowski’s “Independent Review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council’s Response to Claims Made by Mr Martin Morton (and Others) – Final Report”.

Both senior DASS employees Maura Noone and Mike Fowler, although investigated independently and discovered to be parties to:

• disabled abuse
• unlawful deductions from Angela Eagle’s disabled constituents’ bank accounts totalling £736,756.97 over a nine-year period
• bullying
• dishonesty
• incompetence

…initially had their identities protected within the report under the titles “Employee 22” (Noone), “Employee 13” (Fowler) and were never disciplined.  The council was also found to have been involved in disability discrimination by the then Chair of the Disabilities Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Mike Smith.

Mike Fowler took advantage of his hitherto protected status to become a senior employee of the Brook Young People Charity some years ago. 

Whereas Maura Noone, the subject of this safeguarding matter, has used the same frankly obscene protection to recently become the Head of Adult Care at Reading Borough Council.

The foreseeable and avoidable consequences could and should have been envisaged and circumvented at the time by yourself and these attending councillors:

Cllr Phil (liar (see here, here, here, here, here, and here)) Davies (Labour, Leader)

Cllr George Davies (Labour,Deputy Leader)

Cllr Steve Foulkes (former Leader, former Mayor)

Cllr Paul Heyes (presumably Paul Hayes, Conservative)

Cllr Peter Kearney (former Conservative)

Cllr Lesley Rennie (Conservative)

Cllr Sheila Clarke (former Conservative)

Exactly what discussions passed between councillors at the time will remain unknown.  But it appears that the departure of both guilty parties was simply “noted” and no action was taken to remedy a future outcome which has now become a clear and present danger and could have extremely harmful consequences.

This emergency safeguarding matter is confined to Maura Noone, the Head of Social Care at Reading Borough Council, because the threat carried here is potentially more grave and could involve thousands of vulnerable Berkshire adults.

Please use your influence to intervene and take the appropriate steps by advising Reading Borough Council of yours and your fellow members’ longstanding failure to safeguard. This situation became compounded when then Director of Law / Monitoring Officer Bill Norman:

• rewarded both employees with £110,000 each in public money
• imposed gagging clauses inside compromise agreements which prevented both Wirral Council and the two employees from revealing the abuse, bullying, dishonesty, etc.
• provided both employees with clean bills of health in the shape of positive references for future employment
• disguised both employees’ names inside the Anna Klonowski report and thereby prevented the public and the media from discovering their identities

As the person raising this concern, please acknowledge my email today and keep me updated with progress.

[two previous paragraphs removed]

Please do not involve Council Leader Phil Davies in this process. I have incontrovertible evidence to show that he has opted to lie within an important Media Statement in the past, 

Yours faithfully,

Paul Cardin

On Mon, Jun 4, 2018 at 8:11 PM, Jones, Adrian ER. (Councillor) <adrianjones@wirral.gov.uk> wrote:

Dear Mr Cardin,

I understand you wish to raise a safeguarding matter. 

Please set out the full details, in confidence if appropriate.

Best wishes,

Adrian Jones

Councillor for Seacombe Ward, Wirral MBC, embracing:

Egremont, Poulton, Seacombe & Somerville

A link to the previous post is here.

6th June 2018

A response was received today from Councillor Adrian Jones:

Dear Mr Cardin,

This acknowledges receipt of your similar emails sent at 19:28 and 20:14 yesterday 5^th June 2018.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Jones

Councillor for Seacombe Ward, Wirral MBC, embracing:

Egremont, Poulton, Seacombe & Somerville

Update on 23rd January 2021

From 8 years ago today…in the Wirral News.

Below, two screenshots from a truly EPIC FOI request placed with abusers Wirral Council, who took ten months to respond…