Holidays in the sun and unpaid road tax by the Council
In Oct 1977, Holidays in the Sun was released by the Sex Pistols. It could be seen as an unofficial anthem for some Council Officers, as some of them have, according to senior council whistleblowers, received holidays in the sun from contractors for awarding council contracts to them.
Council Officers haven’t visited the deserts of Sudan, or the gardens of Japan, or Milan or Yucatan, nor the wilds of Borneo, or the vineyards of Bordeaux, not as far as the Whistleblowers evidence shows.
However, they have been to Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Ibiza, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Greek Islands, Cyprus, Malta and other European destinations according to claims and evidence of the Whistleblowers.
It’s been 23 days since we posted Holidays & Hypocrisy, where we raised the claims made by senior Council Whistleblowers that council officers have received holidays in return for awarding contracts to certain contractors. There evidence stacks up, not once or twice, but shows seventeen officers have definitively received holidays. Some officers (not those who recently left) have since left the building, but most are still in post according to the Whistleblowers.
Given these are the same Whistleblowers who have been vindicated over the contract and financial irregularities at the Council, we and they are certain, if the Council were to do some concerted digging, they’d uncover a flurry of suntans ascertained by the gratitude of local companies. All of them gained between early 2018 and late 2021.
Few of the whistleblowers have faith in the most senior management to do anything. Officers are losing faith and some staff are leaving while the number of temporary staff is rising. This is because staff have witnessed senior management throw those further down the food chain under a bus to save their own skins.
Moving on, the Council have been sending out officers at the lower end of the pay scale in Council vans which are untaxed. Just yesterday (27.10.22) the Council were sending out officers in untaxed vans and here’s just one which was clamped at South Rd, Hythe. It’s not had valid road tax since 1 July 2022, so nearly fourth months.
Now according to the RAC
It’s virtually impossible to get away without paying road tax if you’re required to because the DVLA runs monthly computer checks of all vehicles registered in the UK.
If the system flags up a vehicle as being untaxed and not declared SORN, an automated letter and fine of £80 will be sent to your address if you’re the registered keeper. You won’t get any points on your licence though. If you pay the fine within 28 days, you should receive a 50% discount.
If you fail to pay the fine, you could be prosecuted, and the penalty could be increased to a maximum of £1,000 if the case goes to court. The DVLA also has the power to clamp your vehicle until the correct amount of tax is paid.
Also the RAC state:
Driving without tax FAQs
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Does having no tax invalidate your insurance?
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If your car doesn’t have tax then you can’t legally drive it on UK roads. This means that any insurance policy you have taken out for your car will be invalidated.
Somebody somewhere in the Council knows the van above and others were not taxed. Somebody somewhere didn’t say anything and allowed the driver to drive it, without valid insurance.
Also it’s clear the Council must have received letters from the DVLA for the nine vehicles which have gone untaxed between May and October. It’s also clear fines must have been issued. This is seriously shit admin by the Council.
It’s clear senior management cannot do the jobs they are paid to do. They cannot ensure officers don’t receive holidays for awarding contracts to Council contractors, and they can’t ensure responsible officers pay road tax for the council vans.
As Princes Parade may well be abandoned due to financial difficulties and the accounts still have not been published three months after the 1 August 2022 deadline, it’s clear that across the whole council there are serious financial issues, so much so nobody can pay the road tax for the Council vehicles. That’s how bad things have got.
S**t, s**t, s**t, there was a Council van up here in Hawkinge which got a DVLA clamp last month. Next time I’ll get a picture.
Ha ha, they’ve taken lesson’s from Wimble regarding Road Tax
https://shepwayvox.org/2019/08/19/cllr-david-wimble-driving-his-beloved-red-1979-mg-with-no-valid-tax-or-mot/
There are a few of us who’ve long suspected – well more than that really – that a certain senior officer in Housing has received holidays in return for awarding low level contracts. Raising this with senior management would most certainly lead to our dismissal. This is why both permanent and temporary staff, see everything, hear everything and say sweet f**k all, as we have mortgages or rent to pay.
If the name of the Housing Officer were somehow to fall into the hands of Shepway Vox I’m sure we would soon find out who this person is and no one at the Council would be any the wiser as to who blew the whistle
Considering the very long line of unjustifiable issues, over many years. the question is how to bring about a reliable council; the current electorate system has seemingly become unsuitable for purpose, an accessory for manipulation. A brief examination of why and how council processes were formed in the UK clearly shows FHDC sadly out of balance with designated purpose, yet continues to be unavoidably financed by the public and permitted to continue as an instrument of government. Therefore the process appears dysfunctional, and indeed, seemingly, this is evidential.
Historically, when government continues operating with the imbalances we appear to be witnessing, ultimately, they fail by crisis, which usually ferments over a long period, which is what we are apparently seeing.
Myopic government, comfortable, with it’s privileges; a not uncommon collapse recipe.
The way to avoid crisis is to adapt, rectify faults, recognising necessity for internal adjustment. What we are not seeing, it appears, are officers with acceptable knowledge of their subject, as would be expected in everyday commerce.
Much of what we appear to be witnessing would achieve instant dismissal by large companies.
There is an old joke> If you lack skills, experience and ability to survive in the working environment, get a council job, instead of spending a life on social welfare.
Sadly, this is a joke expounded in general conversation locally and probably unjustified regarding those of whom are loyal hard working council officers.
It is the good officers we must bring forward.
Nevertheless, the public do not want a continuation of poor behaviour and, I am sure, would welcome and support FHDC in making favourable changes; nobody wants to grumble. So, let’s see a senior management clear out, mind set change and move forward with a level playing field, together.
Can FHDC become a respected council?
The answer is on the event horizon.
This is a local authority whose political leadership and senior officers have demonstrated through both their actions and inaction that they are unfit to hold public office or to hold down their jobs. The only question is when the edifice collapses and who will want to hang around to pick up the pieces. The fact that Finance staff are leaving and large numbers of temporary staff are on the payroll clearly demonstrates that the wheels are starting to fall off. It’s only a matter of time….
@ doggerbank56 – Regrettably we are encumbered with people who have manipulated office and position, comfortably financed, warm, confident and cosy, even chauffeured around, while the public, who pay for these antiquated, ‘privileged’ people, struggle in the cold, saving money to feed their children, this winter,
Some of our people, will die from cold, because they cannot afford heating, while they struggled with rising prices, to feed.
One only needs to observe FHDC executive’s handsome girths, growing well, to note disparity and unrest inevitably swell’s in a populace without a workable instrument to replace this privileged clique, with a less myopic management.