English assemblies' questionable status

mkpdavies · 30-03-2005, 11:42 AM

Taken from UKIP newsletter.

Quote:

In Plymouth UKIP has learned from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee advised by the National Audit Office that the South West Regional Assembly is an employers' association under S122 of the TU and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act of 1992. The Board of the SWRA is the accountable body.

Peter Martin-Kaye has discovered that the above had not been brought INTO phpbb_effect since the SWRA has not registered with the certificating officer and in any event S122 is unsuitable being meant for organisations with no expectation of significant liabilities whereas the SWRA has accumulated (despite having no funds to meet them) about £1m of pension liability for staff. The legal basis of the appointment of the 50 or so permanent and pensionable staff is thus questionable.

Having no income of its own, the SWRA was wrong to employ staff on permanent and pensionable terms. They are writing post-dated cheques on other people's bank accounts (Local Authorities and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister). As it is, Local Councils could find themselves carrying the can and landed with responsibility for people they never appointed, the ODPM having declared that it is nothing to do with them.

Other Assemblies could have fallen INTO phpbb_the same trap. Moves to incorporation are designed to let the Boards escape the consequences. It should be possible to thwart relevant applications on grounds of manifest incompetence and irresponsibility.

So why are local councils doing permitting all this in their own voluntary assemblies for which, ultimately, they are responsible?

Why indeed!

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