A COUNCILLOR’S quest to find out why the council is spending so much money on agency staff to cover a lack of social workers in Pembrokeshire has hit a stumbling block.  The member says it is because officers don’t want him to be asking awkward questions about poor planning and management regarding out of hours mental health social work.

Cllr Paul Dowson, who represents Pembroke Dock Central ward has told The Herald that temporary staff are being charged to the cash strapped Authority at £50 to £60 per hour, plus agency fees – but little or nothing is being done to recruit full time social workers, to assist with the long term care of local people in need.

Cllr Dowson submitted questions to be raised at the Full Council meeting on Thursday, May 10.

He is questioning how much money has been spent on out of hours social workers (Approved Mental Health Professionals) per year.

Cllr Dowson also wants to know what is being done to recruit for the posts, and what is being done to address the poor management complaints that the leavers were making.

However the legal officer for the council, Claire Incledon, has ruled that the questions were too late and cannot be raised at the meeting next week – because the questions were received at 1.34am on May 25 and not before midnight on May 24.

Cllr Dowson said: “This 94 minute delay, probably caused by the councils own servers being slow, makes no actual difference to the Authority as Committee Services do not work during the night. I have also had it on good authority that amendments or corrections to at least one other member’s questions were accepted the next working day – clearly showing that the council is trying to hide something or has a problem with me.”

He added: “I have also submitted a question about fly-tipping and dog fouling. The council has not had anyone qualified to issue fines or penalties to people fly tipping or dog fouling in the Local Authority area. With the summer coming up and holiday makers on the way, we need to get dog fouling under control – and we have all seen on social media the disgusting level of fly-tipping recently – but not one person in the Local Authority is qualified to enforce the law. That is wrong.”

“As a councillor I have been working tirelessly to get an enforcement officer for the last twelve months, and frustratingly so far this has not happened. My second question to Full Council, which also has not been accepted, sought to address this issue. It cannot wait until the July meeting as by then we will be well into the summer.

“The council needs to stop hiding behind petty excuses and archaic bureaucracy, and allow members to ask the questions which are important for the county. I understand there is a need for rules and deadlines, but an email received minutes late is not important to the people of Pembrokeshire – but tens of thousands of pounds being wasted on agency staff covering a lack of social workers who are mental health trained, dogs fouling in an important tourist area with no one to enforce the law, and a fly-tipping problem which we are nowhere to having a grip on is important to the people of Pembrokeshire!

“I know I am not popular with some officers in the Council because I am not a nodding donkey and don’t toe the line. A couple of weeks ago I was in a meeting the Chief Executive’s office and for some reason the Council’s Legal Officer Claire Incledon was present. She butted in to the conversation, in my view, unfairly, and I told her that ‘I didn’t give a f**k about her legal opinion.’

“Officers need to remember that it is not the tail which wags the dog, but the dog that wags the tail. This is now an officer led council, and we the democratically elected representatives of the people need our voice to be heard at Full Council on important issues. It is not a nodding shop for retired professionals to cover their funeral plans, but the collective voice of Pembrokeshire.”