Robin’s Update

Paul Lakin has resigned as Leader with immediate effect and is resigning as a ward councillor as well.

All the cabinet are resigning as soon as transitional arrangements are put in place (by that I think they must mean as soon as the 5 commissioners are installed).

Nearly every director has left the Council.

The senior management team in children’s services is brand new and the council is yet to appoint a permanent chief executive.

There are to be full elections in 2016. There aren’t that many heads left to roll and I just hope that the s**t doesn’t roll downhill to those front-line workers who were let down by senior managers. To quote from the executive summary of Casey’s Report, “Inspectors found many committed, hardworking and dedicated staff working for Rotherham Council including frontline staff and social workers”.

Robin

47 thoughts on “Robin’s Update

  1. Which ‘directors’ are still clinging on then, er, to their grossly overblown salaries?
    And I would hope many other senior staff will be jumping ship too.

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  2. ” I just hope that the s**t doesn’t roll downhill to those front-line workers who were let down by senior managers ” – and you’ll have a role in making sure it doesn’t happen,
    I’ll wish you good luck, but I really hope you won’t need it.
    RR

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  3. If I had been a front line worker, I would have been a whistle blower years ago. Management may not have listened, but a journalist would have been willing to blow the lid on it and the person could have remained anonymous. The rot is all the way from the top to the bottom as far as I am concerned.

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    • Neither the Jay report nor the Casey report have suggested that “the rot is all the way from the top to the bottom”. You must be privy to information that wasn’t available to Jay or Casey or perhaps you’ve been listening too much to Jane Collins.

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      • Like I explained above, people at the bottom could have spilled the beans to the press or other bodies years ago and have blown the lid off it. If any individual whether at the top or the bottom of the system didn’t go out of their way to blow the lid on such industrial scale abuse, then that makes them complicit.

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      • Obviously Robin your belief Labour can do no wrong beggars belief for years now this council have ignored their constituents they are getting what they deserve the victims have NEVER been mentioned only those responsible denying it all.

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    • Being a whistle blower would not have been that easy, especially if you have a family to feed, you need your salary. We have seen how many whistle blowers in the past in the NHS have been sacked and are still fighting for the truth to be made public. The Media doesn’t always want to know.

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  4. The electorate of Rotherham having been voting in idiots for decades ” Ee, us always vote Labour “.
    Don’t think they are going to vote for anyone else – some people will vote in a monkey if wears a red and yellow rosette . Oh wait – they HAVE been doing haven’t they ?

    They will just play the ” few rotten apples in the barrel ” card and say it’s all sorted now, and the Labour votes will come flooding in.

    Now, let me see , what was the name of the last McMonkey they elected ?

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    • You’ve hit the nail on the head Roger Wilson. “Well my father voted labour” or “well I was a miner” mentality is endemic in Rotherham.

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  5. It was interesting to hear somebody asking Kevin Barron why he wasn’t party to knowing of the mass abuse across Rotherham, even though two of is family were at the meetings many years ago, that brought this to their attention. Kevin tried to say that he didn’t discuss confidential cases, however wide scale abuse without bringing names into the frame wouldn’t be confidential and I can’t understand how he didn’t become aware of this through his family and associates in the Labour council.

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    • If my daughter hadn’t briefed me on something that has resulted in my town, my party and me being dowsed in manure, I’d lean towards disembowelling the ingrate. But clearly, Barron is from a kinder mould…. The man is a saint.

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      • Byeck he is not the saint you are led to believe i made an enquiry to sarah champion regarding rmbc which was forwarded to kevin barrons office as i live in his constituency but as a resident in the borough i believe i should also have an answer from sarah champion. The resulting reply from kevin barron answered nothing he then proceeded to slur me by saying he hoped i was happy in my new party keeping the spirit of thatcherism alive his words on house of commons paper bty i am a member of UKIP and had NEVER mentioned any party on my question to sarah champion my politics has nothing to do with the question i asked about rmbc

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  6. Just watched the Channel four news, Casey claim that they were in denial was true. Every councillor was claiming Jay report either exaggerated the figures or she was wrong. These old farts were a disgrace to intelligence. But now am thinking who the hell voted these jokes in, surely the people of Rotherham can make inform choices or can they?

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  7. It would appear due to a barrage of negative comments that Rotherham labour have deleted their Facebook page. Yet another example of refusing to face the music !

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  8. Lakin has been part of,and presided over,this corrupt and rotten council. He is part of the cabal who have denied justice to abused young people. I hope he is not expecting any sort of pay off, he does not deserve one IMV and Hodinott is neither experienced enough nor acceptable for any future post on RMBC.
    As for the Monitoring Officer her role will be taken over by one of the five Commissioners appointed by Pickles however she cannot deny any knowledge of what has been happening since she took up her post in 2012, furthermore evidence is mounting she tried to bury evidence concerning serious allegations against a Labour councillor and also interfered with the reply to an FoI request originally addressed to former leader Lakin. Will any questions be asked of former Monitoring Officer Tim Mumford?
    One further point that could be considered pertinent; I had replies to two emails on Sunday afternoon 1st February. One from Lakin and one from Collins. What were the former Leader and Monitoring Officer doing working on a Sunday four days prior to the publication of the Casey Report? Making certain some things ‘disappeared’ or preparing a defence?
    Strange behaviour from strange people.

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    • However pertinent some of your points may be, you will be pleased to note that the former Leader regularly worked late at night and during the weekends just to keep on top of the workload, not just on that particular weekend. I expect Ms Collins also did the same, owing to her heavy workload. I’m just pointing this out in the interest of fairness.

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      • TBH I would expect (as I’m sure many would) the Council Leader to work at weekends, particularly in Rotherham where there is so much work to do. It hardly seems fair to criticise him for it! It is not at all unusual for local authority strategic directors to work at weekends (when they get salaries of around £100k per year I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect them to).

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    • The pied pipers CV says he was more than happy to trade childhoods. He hid away when the media were at his door this morning. Its the first time theyv been allowed to approach his home throughout this crisis. Is he at last vulnerable.
      Rotherham
      Money 4
      Banning
      Childhood
      The government henchmen are coming to enforce what theyv got away with forever. They arent going to save the vulnerable , theyv cut out the bumbling idiotic child traffickers, but a set of well trained , hand picked, common purpose graduates , the divide is widening, us and them.

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  9. Now that Lakin has jumped, what about the rest of the Cabinet. If Lakin accepted the report and did the right thing, then it follows that all the Cabinet who also accepted collective responsibility, by resigning, should also go ASAP.
    They agreed with the report that they have failed, so by hanging on they are just going to prolong the agony.
    TAKE NOTE Labour Central, if you don’t want a white wash in Rotherham in May, you should come in NOW and cull anyone who is toxic.

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  10. S.
    I can’t see Labour Central supporting many of their tribe in Rotherham. It will be interesting to see if they have the balls (pun intended) to carry out the cull or whether Labour Central will leave Rotherham Labour Cllrs in the wilderness in an attempt to distance themselves from what has undoubtedly been a disaster for the party.

    I doubt we will see the Labour big guns out and about on the streets of Rotherham trying to whip up support for their members before the election. Some how I doubt if any of the Labour hierarchy will dare to tarnish their reputation by taking a chance on being linked to a failed Labour Council.

    Such is the lack of spine of professional politicians of current times.

    Ivan

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  11. i hope the workers at the front line aren’t affected by this. some people naturally are worried on how this change will impact them.
    can’t say im upset that mahroof is gone-interesting his nephew was on radio today, wonder if he’ll be questioned on his uncle links but doubt it as dont seem journalists have time to do homework. find his media work tough to stomach considering his links to his uncle. just sounds like a boys club using this new org of his to make one look “respectable” in the community.

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      • Where’s your evidence that they “did nothing”? If it were true why have Jay and Casey both filed to pick up on any culpability on the part of front-line workers?

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      • Who was the first point of Contact these victims turn for help, wasn’t the Councillars or the managers, it would’ve been the frontline workers. How many of these workers knew something was going in and how hard did they really try to be heard. Could’ve gone through their immediate superior , grievance procedures, Trade Union, Councillor, MP , children charities, Child Commission although they just as useless as Rotherham Council. The press was available. I bet not one of their family or friends were harmed .

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      • Ah, so Louise Casey is wrong is she? Please, can you publish your report as soon as its ready because this Casey woman is obviously covering up the heinous misdeeds of the hundreds of ordinary people of this borough who are guilty of working for the council.

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      • Manc01 you are talking absolute nonsense.
        How can you say that the front line workers “could’ve gone through their immediate superior , grievance procedures, Trade Union, Councillor, MP , children charities, Child Commission ” and then say “… although they just as useless as Rotherham Council”.

        Listen to Robin – he actually knows what he is talking about.

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  12. Now I wonder who the “current councillor” and the “former councillor” are who are, allegedly, accused of possible CSE along with a SYP Officer,details of which have been passed to the NCA for investigation ???? Could make interesting reading !

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  13. Theyv proved what a danger to the public they are, section them if they cant be charged. A useful tool they arent averse to using to victimise the vulnerable and undermine the truth THEY THRIVE TRADING VULNERABLE CHILDRENS CHILDHOODS FOR UNACCOUNTABILITY. Traitors traitors traitors.

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  14. Ms Hoddinot’s twitter is a bit quiet. Rik, any plans to bin it now? And it’s about time Mr Mc Shame ‘s went too? Time you had some proper politicians twitter feeds up?

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