Thursday June 26th

Word reaches me that Mrs Jill Shortland, the alleged leader of Somerset County Council, is planning to silence the MP for Bridgwater. Apparantly the deluded lady believes that public money is being spent on Mr Liddell-Grainger's campaign against Alan Jones. Mogg is happy to confirm her suspicions.

Currently a team of 299  operatives are fully engaged in the campaign. They meet in a vast war-room and have access to a bank of IBM computers to monitor the activities of Mr Jones. No public expense is spared. Mr Liddell-Grainger himself travels everywhere by Lear jet and all his team have blackberries, strawberries and banana splits.

Exclusive pictures of the Campaign AJ War-room are available at £2.99 each

(postage and packing extra - state matt or glossy with your order)

 

PS: Mrs Shortland you really must be desperate.

Seriously though......

I have now accepted TWO offers from County Hall to inspect the contract - see my acceptance letter: YES PLEASE, I WANT TO SEE THE CONTRACT

And I have also consulted top Ministers: THE GOVERNMENT GETS INVOLVED 

 

 

Tuesday June 24th

Make sure you get hold of the annual report and accounts that Somerset County is obliged by law to publish. This information SHOULD be available on the council's website. But it isn't. Maybe they hope we inquisitive pussies will simply slink off and not bother. Silly them.

We already have a copy. It is short of detail about South West One, but contains a number of interesting bits....including a fat pay rise for A Jones:

He's now in the salary band of £140 - £149k.

Presumably that's one of the reasons why he needs to sack so many people

 

Thursday June 19th

I hear that Alan Jones has been getting his leg over again.

The famous four-wheel totty magnet was missing from its designated place in County Hall's car park on Tuesday. A keen-eyed BBC man spotted the gap. But our Al claimed he was nevertheless "on the job" and had got into work by pushbike.

The mere thought of that four-star-fool decked out in lycra was more than enough to put this moggy off her whiskas. But Jones was actually telling porkies again.

His office insist the "Great Man" took the day off!

EXCELLENT NEWS 1

We have a new blogging pal out there - well worth a bookmark

Click the picture

EXCELLENT NEWS 2

Mrs Alan - oops I meant Colin - Port (see June 11th below) has turned up at last - project managing Buckinghamshire County Council's scheme to streamline services.

(click the bird to read the facts)

Will Bucks be knocking on Jones' door soon?

And will Jones still have a door at County Hall with his name on it?

After this week's antics we wonder.

Read the full transcript of Liddell-Grainger's latest speech in the House:

SOUTHWEST ONE - THE SCANDAL DEEPENS

AND READ WHAT THE WESTERN DAILY PRESS HAD TO SAY  "JOBCUT" JONES 

PS:  This week Mr Jones was described as Judas in the House of Commons, castigated by the Western Daily Press, made to look a twit by the BBC and mercilessly grilled by ITV who are compiling a documentary about the SouthWest One fiasco. He is now as short of friends in the media as he is of supporters in the County. But you can't keep a small man down. Today he pulled himself up to his full height and started leaking juicy titbits about the contents of this column to.......wait for it.......the Municipal Journal:

.....this solid organ of reportage is strictly for anoraks  -  the equivalent of Gerbil-Breeders weekly (if you happen to be a gerbil)  

If he really wants effective counter-publicity to save his sinking reputation may I recommend one of these:

I suggest he writes one word on the board in great big letters:

"HELP"

Wednesday June 11th

Meet one of the architects of SouthWest One:

 

.......and SouthWest One's new director   

They make a lovely couple, don't they.

 ANYONE SEEN MR JONES? 

And as for poor Mr Kershaw. He is, apparantly, very worried that his indecipherable signature is now on this website. (where do you think we got, Roger?....from Somerset's own website of course!) But I am more than happy to muddy the waters a little for such a fine, upstanding, long-suffering, contract page-shredding, Section 151 Officer.

So here is Roger's new signature:

or, if he has one, could it be his pulse?

AND ANOTHER THING...........

Mogg would like to offer a heartfelt apology to Mr Jones, Mr Kershaw, Mr Corry and all other regular insultees. It seems that some of them may have been missing the illuminating new ingredients about SouthWest One in this website.

HAVE YOU SEEN HIM YET?

THE GREAT JOBS LIE

BLACKBERRY FOOL 

COWBOYS EXTRA

WOULD YOU DO BUSINESS WITH THESE COWBOYS?

THE CONTRACT COVER-UP

THE BUSINESS PLAN 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

The moment we add a new one, Mogg promises to put in a link

Thursday June 5th

 I feel a personal promotion coming on. I reckon Indiana could do with me at the helm, pushing out the press releases and schmoozing it with the tabloids - they need an expert:

Job: Head of Communications, Somerset County Council

·       Employer: Somerset County Council

·       Reference: 2015JLB

·       Contact: Jane Brown

·       Location: Somerset

·       Contract: Permanent

·       Hours: Full Time

·       Position: Head of Communications

·       Salary: Up to £67,500

Taking communications beyond excellence in Somerset.

Often described as “the gateway to the west country”, Somerset is a county of great contrast, beautiful countryside and a diverse and successful economy. Its County Council is also rightly proud of being awarded the maximum four-star grading as an excellent Council by the Audit Commission. Our reputation as one of the best councils nationwide is built on our commitment to excellence in everything we do, and our focus on innovation and continuous improvement. How we communicate and truly engage with our community, all our stakeholders and, not least, internally, is critically important. We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the necessary ambition to successfully lead a communications function. We are looking for a track record of operational delivery and strategic grasp. We'll expect the post holder to challenge current thinking, offer creative solutions and develop the talents of a team of fourteen media and campaigns staff. If you are able to deliver better outcomes for the community through proactive communication we'd be delighted to hear from you.   

Ok Jonesy, I'm putting my pawprint on your application form!

Friday May 30th

 

Nice to see "Zoom-Zoom-Zoom" spending so much time on the job........

Maybe he's been helping his old chum Roger Kershaw with a spot of extra work. Mr K, it seems, is not only Resources Director of Somerset County Council (and, thus, in charge of finances)  but also the County's "Section 151 Officer" in formal charge of probity!

There is, of course, absolutely no conflict of interest in these dual roles despite what Roger's professional organisation, CIPFA has to say:

"The holding of the position of Section 151 officer and [director of finance] is of great importance, both to the community which the officer serves, and for the reputation and standing of CIPFA itself.

The more serious the situation facing a local authority the more likely that failure to take appropriate action by a CIPFA member would reflect badly not only on the member but also on his professional body and his employer.

CIPFA guides are there to prevent failures and encourage good behaviour.

It is also important to appreciate that the Section 151 officer is the person to whom other CIPFA members in that member’s office would look to set the tone when pressure was applied. [The member’s] duties were owed not only to the council and his colleagues but also to the community as a whole."

 

 

..........but busy Roger now has an extra responsibility.......

He's had his locks changed to stop EXACT DETAILS of

any future secret meetings leaking out. Best to keep the cleaners out and DIY, Roger!

 

Friday May 23rd.

Rather a lot to report. From what I can gather the senior inmates of County Hall are still scuttling about like this chap - but minus their heads!

(Poor wee chucks!)

And all because ILG spilled the beans about what they've been trying to hide: 

The SouthWest One Contract. All 3000 pages of it.

Today we reveal more facts about the cover-up.

 

Wednesday May 21st

Read the bizarre letter from Jill Shortland (written by A.J?).....and my acid reply!

while you're at it have a click at this:

and what are you doing on June 5th?

 

Wednesday May 14th

And greetings to all our faithful viewers at County Hall.

Your favourite pussy is somewhat distressed to learn that Mrs Shortland failed to give voice to her bizarre criticism of Ian L-G at today's full council meeting. She had certainly planned to say some cruel things - see: MRS SHORTLAND LOSES THE PLOT

Maybe the presence of ITV put her off? (You can get away with looking a wally in the Council Chamber, but not on telly!)

Incidentally we have reworked the entire website. You may care to glance at some other articles of interest: SOUTH WEST ONE not to mention: IBM STRONG ARM TACTICS and: ROTTEN STANDARDS

And make a date with us next week. We will be breaking a very big story.

Monday May 12th

You may have noticed our complete absence from the web for the past three days. This was not caused by a change of heart about SouthWest One. The real explanation is only known to a small bald man with Napoleonic habits................

But normal service has now been resumed! Thanks for your patience.

Tuesday May 6th

Bonjour Monsieur Jones!.....nous faisons confiance que vous avez apprécié des vacances agréables.

Mais nous souhaitons que vous ne disiez pas des mensonges

Thursday April 25th

 

        LIRE ?                LYRE ?               LIAR ?

Today Mogg reveals who's been telling   porkies   

 

 

The Chief Executive of Somerset County Council is guilty of lying.

He has lied repeatedly about the status of a private consultancy

called Maana:

 

Somerset County Council paid this consultancy in excess of £15,000

for two days work last year. The consultancy was hired in preference

to the FREE evaluatons offered by the Government-approved   experts 4ps

 

 

 

We are not dealing with a trivial error.Here is a lie about the validity

of the   County Council's processes as secret negotiations with IBM were

taking place. Mr Jones says MAANA is " 4ps accredited".

 

This is blatantly untrue.  Mr Jones has sent a so-called "fact sheet" to

Councillors from other local authorities. These are his exact words

 

"It is recommended that in a project of this size that Gateway Reviews are carried out.  Our first Gateway Review was indeed carried out by 4P’s. 

There is no requirement to use 4 P’s to carry out a Gateway Review.  We were concerned at the latter stages of the project that we got the maximum

benefit from any Gateway Review and it was felt at the time that there were more appropriately experienced (albeit 4P’s accredited) Gateway

Reviewers that we could use and gain value from.  We chose MAANA and we received excellent value and impartial advice as a result of their

deliberations and indeed their previous work with Suffolk who have gone down a similar route.........The County Council was free to use the most

appropriate evaluation support to deliver the project. Throughout this project we have used both 4P's and 4P's accredited evaluators.

Having used 4Ps at an earlier stage we used MAANA as an additional check and balance."

 

Mr Jones is still using the vehicle of the Somerset County Council website

to   perpetuate this lie:

 

"Throughout the whole process we have been independently scrutinised by a range of external bodies including 4P’s, MAANA (who are 4P’s accredited)"

http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/features/ataxpayersguide/

THE EVIDENCE IS PUBLISHED IN FULL BELOW 

 

Friday April 18th

Mogg thought you would like to know how much Somerset County Council is borrowing this year in order to finance the dubious joint venture with IBM.

Are you sitting comfortably?

£74,164,000.00p

Somerset has to borrow because it has no reserves. Taunton Deane, on the other hand, has a lot in the bank. But in order to finance SouthWest One they're already dipping deep into savings. In the first few weeks of the new financial year they've also slashed £70,000 plus from two normal programme budgets.

Who said this project was going to save money?

Meanwhile more e-mails to report: Here's my response to Anal's Mad Missive:

 

SOUTH WEST ONE (Here we go again!)‏
From:	ian liddell-grainger ([email protected])
Sent:	16 April 2008 18:30:47
To:	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] ([email protected]); [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

On April 8^th Alan Jones, Chief Executive of Somerset County Council sent you all with a “rebuttal of the rebuttal” about my comments on the secretive deals behind South West One. (This correspondence is in danger of becoming too protracted for sanity!) I will not burden you with a further document to read. But I would invite you to consider a list of questions which Mr Jones has signally failed to answer throughout

• 1)       Who are the Directors of South West One?
• 2)       What is the address, phone, and e-mail contact for the   company?
• 3)       How can the jobs of 800 employees be “guaranteed” for 10 years?
• 4)       How can promised savings of £200 million be made?
• 5)       What is the business plan?
• 6)       Is it true that IBM own 75% of the business?
• 7)       Is it true that the computer software involved is made in India?
• 8)       Why was the wife of Avon’s Police chief so closely involved?
• 9)       Why were 4P’s excluded?
• 10)  Will 4P’s now be invited back to help clear the air?

      There is no longer an issue of commercial confidentiality. Millions of pounds of tax-payers money are at stake. It is now a matter of urgent public interest to answer these questions.

 

Wednesday April 8th

Oh no! Another mad missive from the troubled Sherriff of Taunton. First he sent a fact-free fact-sheet to councils which had signed up to the original framework agreement. I responded, highlighting the obvious discrepancies. Now he's posted a rebuttal to my rebuttal! It is clearly high time to call in the men with white coats.

RE: SOUTHWEST ONE FACT SHEET- MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL, ALAN JONES‏
From:	Alan Jones ([email protected])
Sent:	08 April 2008 11:33:12
To:	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Cc: ([email protected]); [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Jill Shortland ([email protected]); Sam Crabb ([email protected]); [email protected]
Cc:	ian liddell-grainger ([email protected])

Dear colleague,  

 

You will have received Mr.Liddell-Grainger’s comments on our response to the many inaccuracies and untruths in his Parliamentary speech.  I am afraid we cannot let his most recent comments go unchallenged as they contain further wild

inaccuracies and are damaging the reputation of the County Council, South West One and the prospects of both Somerset and the South West of England.   

In brief, Mr. Liddell-Grainger's comments are as much nonsense as his original speech.  I am, however, happy to make allowances for the fact that he clearly has very little knowledge of local government or the processes involved in contract negotiations and joint ventures and has not sought the facts from either myself or my colleagues. 

I am therefore sorry to have to write to you again with a further rebuttal.  Suffice it to say this is the last time I will be commenting on these inaccuracies as I believe to attempt to engage in any sensible debate with this MP is pointless.  As an MP Mr Liddell-Grainger can make many outrageous and defamatory comments under Parliamentary Privilege.  What he needs to understand is that Parliamentary Privilege does not confer instant erudition and nor does it allow MPs to run the County Council. 

The most serious aspect of Mr Liddell-Grainger's intemperate and misguided speech is that it has done serious harm to the inward investment and economic development prospects of his constituency, of Somerset and of the South West generally. 

IBM are a multi-national company with an excellent reputation who can - and do - work and create employment anywhere they choose in the world.  They decided to come to this County to work with two of the best local authorities in England:

theSomerset County Council and Taunton Deanne Borough Council.  The welcome which they have received from Mr. Liddell-Grainger (see his so called blog  http://www.liddellgrainger.org.uk/ian/MOGGTHEBLOGISBACK.html) will not, sadly, be an

incentive to future investors.  

I attach a table which is now in landscape format!  It highlights the further inaccuracies in Ian Liddell-Grainger’s comments.  

I promise that I shall not bother you with this again. Should you wish to know more about this ground breaking initiative and how it can help your local council improve services and at the same time save money

or how Somerset County Council became one of the best Councils in England, do not hesitate to contact me. 

For those with insomnia I recommend a full read of Jones' "landscape" rebuttal-of-all-rebuttals document. It will not induce wisdom. But it will make you laugh and sleep peacefully later.

Take paragraph 1.

Jonesy attempts to answer my simple question: How and where do we find South West One?

1.  There are clear contact details via our email enquiry form.  In addition, anyone who requires the telephone number of any of the founding partners (including IBM) can click on a link under “contacts” to see this information.

This is poppycock. Below are the cotact pages for SCC and SW1. Addresses, e-mails, phone numbers and names are conspicuous by their absence.

http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/contactus/      http://southwestone.org.uk/Contact.aspx

 

Friday April 4th

We don't know who you are, but we are very grateful indeed to the person or persons who supplied us with a weighty secret document today. It will be treated like the political dynamite it is. Thankyou very much......and if there's any more ....

...................just slip it under the same door

 

NO ROOM AT THE INN?

 

There are, apparantly, so many top-level IBM consultants in Taunton these days that its top hotel has been almost unbookable since Christmas.

Mogg tried and failed. Have a go yourself. Click the picture and try to book a single room (£95 a night)

Happily IBM pay the expenses of their consultants. Unhappily every consultant costs the new South West One company well over £1000 a day.

Its YOUR money going into someone else's pocket:

 

Thursday April 3rd

The hand of "Big A" has been at it again. Last night he wrote to lots of Tory Councillors (and a handful of others) with an exciting "fact-sheet "about South West One. There should have been a warning on the document:

"This fact sheet contains no facts"

SOUTHWEST ONE FACT SHEET- MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL, ALAN JONES‏
From:	Jane Clarke ([email protected]) on behalf of Alan Jones ([email protected])
	You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent:	02 April 2008 17:11:12
To:	Alan Jones ([email protected]); [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Cc:	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Jill Shortland ([email protected]); Sam Crabb ([email protected]); [email protected]; [email protected]

Dear Colleague
 
Further to my email below, as promised I attach a Fact Sheet in relation to Southwest One. The Fact Sheet is structured so as to relate directly to the speech of Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP in the Westminster Hall debate on 26 March 2008.
 
I am providing this Fact Sheet as Mr Liddell-Grainger MP has advised you to read his speech and take note of his concerns. I would strongly advise you to read my Fact Sheet alongside the speech as it corrects a series of inaccuracies and misunderstandings in Mr Liddell-Grainger's speech. This information has also been made available to Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP.
 
As a 4 Star, Improving Strongly Council, we are particularly proud of the creation of the joint venture company with IBM. In addition to the huge savings that will be made to the benefit of the tax payer, we also expect significant service improvements which will benefit all residents within Somerset. One of the additional benefits sometimes missed by observers is that this initiative has brought a global, high-tech company with an excellent reputation into Somerset and the South West of England. Their plans, as part of Southwest One, will make a major contribution to the local economy and to the employment prospects of our local people. All of these matters are things which I would expect every MP to be in favour of.
 
Mr Liddell-Grainger put his views strongly in the debate but it would have been better if he had contacted my officers first to check the facts.
 
Finally, should you require any further information or advice on this excellent and groundbreaking joint venture, I would be more than happy to assist.
 
Best wishes
Alan

Mogg believes in open government

So today we publish the so called"fact sheet "in full

.....with pertinent comments from Ian in red!

PS. 

 

Tuesday April 1st

Today's the day the Fools of South West One take over

(They are probably already celebrating with a big boat of the brown stuff)

All those IBM extras camping out in Taunton hotels at our expense....

.....all those additional consultants too.....

.....plus the bunch from Mouchel.....

......which recently bought up HBS

(whose team were trained by that well-known "organisational change strategist" Jenny Hastings)

...but that's another story!!!

 

Monday March 31st

            

Someone  tried to neuter Somerset's favourite pussy.

It happened  just after last week's South West One debate.

But you can't keep a streetwise feline down for long!

Mogg's mighty mouthings are preserved here for posterity

And new information is gushing in all the time

When we revealed some of the draconian work patterns imposed by South West One, two memos were reproduced on this page. What we hadn't bargained on was the grim determination of the new company to keep its murky business details secret.

 The ruthless South West One "Thought Police" are now searching for the leaker.

I have news for them. These documents arrived at the House of Commons in plain brown envelopes from no less than seven different sources. But, in order to prevent cruel interrogation of innocent staff, Mogg is now removing the material.

 

South West One might have been created by George Orwell. It operates by fear rather than intelligence.

 

Mogg learns from another source that South West One has organised imminent compulsory courses for everyone involved in finance. Bizarre timing, given that everyone involved in finance is far too busy winding up the old financial year. But South West One is nothing short of bizarre. It has decided to begin formal trading tomorrow: April 1st! Fool's Day!

 

Mind you Monday March 31st is already proving to be very strange.......

 

This morning I decided to write to as many as possible of 18 councils which signed a "framework" agreement with SCC some time ago. The list of those who signed was extracted only last Friday under the Freedom of Information Act:

 

Here's what I wrote:

House of Commons

Westminster, SW1A 0AA

[email protected]

[email protected]

Tel: 0207 219 8149 

I understand that officers of your Council have already signed a 'framework' agreement which would allow it, in the future, to procure services from a new joint venture company established by Somerset County Council and IBM. 
 
Signatories to the framework agreement include 18 local authorities and one Primary Care Trust. 
The company is called South West One.
 
I have serious doubts about its probity and competence. I expressed them in a House of Commons debate last Wednesday. I seriously urge you to read my speech - which is attached - and make your own judgement.
 I am also contacting Parliamentary colleagues in your area.

Please feel free to contact me.

Ian Liddell-Grainger MP

Bridgwater & <span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic San