Module 3 Opening Statements - Tuesday 30th March 2021 (1/1) #GrenfellInquiry

Mayor of London / Fire Brigades Union / London Fire Commissioner

 

UK: Police detain protesters at "Kill the Bill" rally in #Manchester

#Kingspan Evidence - Wednesday 24th March 2021 (2/2) Adrian Pargeter Richard Burnley

#Bristol Protests live

Cover-Up is happening right now - Contaminated Blood Scandal

In full: Dominic Cummings breaks silence before committee of MPs

British Board of Agrément (#BBA) Evidence - Thursday 18th March 2021 (2/2)#Grenfell Chris Hunt -John Albon

British Board of Agrément (#BBA) Evidence - Wednesday 17th March 2021 (1/2)#Grenfell

Brian Moore - Chris Hunt 

 

Cyngor Gwynedd Council Fail.: CEO Retires - What Next For Cyngor Gwynedd Council ?

The Chief Executive Officer of Cyngor Gwynedd council, Dilwyn Williams, has announced he is to retire at the end of this month.

Dilwyn O Williams was appointed CEO  in 2014, replacing Harry Thomas who had been in position since 2003.

Like Thomas, Mr Williams had worked for the council for many years, before the creation of the new unitary Gwynedd council and abolishment of the previous authority after the North Wales Child Abuse scandal and boundary changes.

The reign of Harry Thomas ended under a cloud with 'angry council workers will walk out of their jobs in protest after bosses were awarded pay rises of thousands of pounds while theirs were frozen...'
From 2013 -https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/angry-council-workers-walk-out-2503378 

"Assets and customer care director Dilwyn Williams, education, skills and regeneration director Iwan Trefor Jones and planning and public protection director Dafydd Lewis had rises of £5,839 to £88,960.
Increases for 11 heads of service ranged from £1,042 to £5,094. For example the heads of social services and education saw their salaries rise by £3,311 from £72,200 to £75,511. The decision was taken by the council in June but staff say they weren’t told."

Dilwyn started off as a clerk for the former Caernarfon Council, then became Head of Accountancy for the new authority, then Strategic Resources Director, Corporate Director and finally CEO, where he has held the position for the last seven years.

His tenure as CEO began when the Westminster government austerity cuts really began to bite.
Some in the council have praised his work over the period, making £millions of cuts to vital services and jobs, the closing of community schools and youth clubs, the increasing Council Tax rises. Less services for even more money. This in the main under the dictates of the westminster government and the austerity measures first imposed by Cameron and Osbourne.

Under his stewardship, serious failings with the council have been highlighted in many reports, including five Ombudsman for Wales investigations. These include breaches of Human Rights, interference with the social services complaints process and so called 'independent' investigations, ignorance of Law, policy and procedures and basically council officer's behaving very badly, indeed.

There have been data breaches, censoring of personal information, misrepresenting evidence, misinformation and fabrication.

There was the case of the social worker being suspended by Gwynedd council for two and a half years until she won her Employment Tribunal. More on that here -

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5cf61dd7e5274a0771578036/1600022.2017_Mr_S_Parry_v_Gwynedd_Council_-_CORRECTED_JUDGMENT_AND_REASONS.pdf

Then there was the Employment Tribunal which found against the council for their dismissal of two local teachers - “extraordinary”, “ill-conceived”, and “emphatically wrong”.
More on that here - https://gwyneddsfailingcouncil.blogspot.com/2020/07/cyngor-gwynedd-council-extraordinary.html

Then along came the pandemic and a year of death, stress and change for all.

At a national and a local level Wales did well with the first lockdown and community spirit came to the fore. Some schools remained open to take the children of 'key workers'. People and organisations all rallied round and ensured medications were received and food parcels delivered to those in need.

Cyngor Gwynedd council kept things very close to their chests. Millions of pounds have been given out to local businesses for support during the pandemic whilst Councillors have complained of being left out of the decision making process -  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gwynedd-councillors-say-were-shut-18705757
'One member claimed there was a 'lack of trust' in the ruling cabinet group'

Then came the issue of hotdesking and virtual locations and the Audit office raising concerns with travel expenses -  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/eyebrows-raised-what-schools-agency-18716183

'While the council's decision to change the rules was aimed at saving around £290,000 a year, GwE - which is funded by North Wales authorities - saw its expenditure increase between 2017 and 2019.'

'An audit also found that mileage claims were not being checked properly, leading to one instance where an 800 mile claim submitted for an 80 mile journey was processed before the mistake was found'

Then there was the issue of the council's car pool when it was reported that some officers were using the vehicles inappropriately, publicised by the very obvious banner next to Morrison's supermarket in Caernarfon, that was quickly taken down by the council.

A review of the council's social services policies for those with Autism without a learning disability has been released though not yet published. It mentions the ring fenced monies that have been allocated for such services over the years and calls for immediate actions.

Statutory annual reports from some council departments are already late, with no dates announced for completion nor opportunity to scrutinise what has been a truly tumultous period.

At the time of Dilwyn's announcement to retire the news came that a former colleague of his, Lucille Margaret Hughes, had died. Miss Hughes was once the Director of Gwynedd social services during the North Wales Child Abuse scandal and presided over the sacking of a social worker who attempted to whistleblow the care home abuses.

Miss Hughes, also worked for CAIS and had been living in the grace and favour apartments at Penhyrn Castle for many years.

Cyngor Gwynedd Council Fail.: CEO Retires - What Next For Cyngor Gwynedd Council ?:

The Psychedelic Furs - Wrong Train (Official Video)

How China is creating the world’s largest prison | Four Corners

It’s a remote corner of the world, but what is taking place in China’s Xinjiang province is nothing short of breathtaking. 

Today its #Uyghur population is being systematically rounded up and detained, with estimates of as many as a million citizens being held in re-education camps. 

Even those still left in their homes are being monitored. The communist regime is using cutting edge technology, mass surveillance tools and artificial intelligence to control an entire population. 

By piecing together witness accounts from #Australian citizens caught up in the Chinese Government’s campaign, along with satellite imagery analysis and official documents uncovered online, the truth about what is occurring in Xinjiang is laid bare. 

 We have uncovered evidence of detainees being forced to work in factories with implications for Australian companies doing business in the region. 

We also reveal concerning evidence about Australia’s links to China’s dystopian surveillance state and the tools used to racially profile its own citizens. The events unfolding in China are creating heartbreak for Uyghurs in Australia. They have stayed quiet for fear of provoking the authorities into punishing their relatives. Now, in desperation they are breaking their silence to tell the world what is going on.

 

STOP CORRUPTION IN POLITICS TO ENABLE REAL CHANGE - Neil McEvoy

Neil McEvoy, a Member of the Welsh Parliament and Leader of Propel, Wales' brand new political party, chats about his past, present and future and how he's attempting to implement change, through leading the Propel Wales, non-aligned political grass roots movement. Working toward Direct Democracy and influencing Welsh Politics from within.

 

Boris Johnson on Priti Patel, Coronavirus and Changing Nappies | This Mo...

Boris Johnson: Well it’s a very, very important question, and that’s where a lot of the debate has been and one of the theories is, that perhaps you could take it on the chin, take it all in one go and allow the disease, as it were, to move through the population, without taking as many draconian measures. I think we need to strike a balance, I think it is very important, we’ve got a fantastic NHS, we will give them all the support that they need, we will make sure that they have all preparations, all the kit that they need for us to get through it. But I think it would be better if we take all the measures that we can now to stop the peak of the disease being as difficult for the NHS as it might be, I think there are things that we may be able to do.

Act - Snobbery and Decay (ZTAS 28)

Christian Porter breaks law. #Australia

British Board of Agrément (#BBA) Evidence - Thursday 11th March 2021 (1/2) Hamo Gregorian #Grenfell

Siderise & Panel Systems Ltd Evidence - Tuesday 9th March 2021 (1/2) Chris Mort / Richard Kay#Grenfell

#Siderise Evidence - Monday 8th March 2021 (1/2) Chris Mort #Grenfell

Herefordshire Building Control Evidence David Jones - Thursday 4th March 2021 (1/2) #Grenfell

#BRE Evidence Tony Baker - Wednesday 3rd March 2021 (2/2) #Grenfell

#BRE & #Simco contractor Evidence - Tuesday 2nd March 2021 (2/2) Stephen Howard Patrick Jones

#BRE Evidence - Monday 1st March 2021 (2/2) Stephen Howard #Grenfell #GrenfellInquiry