Rich pickings for Rich Mix?

Labour’s John “two jobs” Biggs is looking into how to make his Administration more transparent: according to Councillors Shahed Ali and Oliur Rahman, he could make a good start by coming clean over the Rich Mix Centre. The two Independent councillors submitted a comprehensive motion to the Council, outlining the process by which John Biggs had written off a debt the Rich Mix Centre owed to the Council and, they say, giving the Centre an additional grant.

They claim the process is flawed, and certainly not transparent. Given that the Council and its Mayor (whose powers are delegated by the Council) are not supposed to have any powers to give grants to third party organisations, as these have been taken over by the Government’s commissioners, why did John Biggs give the Rich Mix Centre a grant? Even if the Council and/or John Biggs did have those powers, any grant should be decided openly, on the basis of objective criteria, in return for agreed outcomes which should be monitored: none of these seem to apply in this case. Why do the Commissioners not regard this loan write-off as a grant? What is the grant for – not least because at least part of the Rich Mix Centre operates as a commercial organisation? Given the number of Labour Party members and councillors involved with Rich Mix, was there any conflict of interest?

Labour is the largest party in the Council chamber and it has found a way of operating that almost ensures that no motions submitted by opposition councillors are heard. First, Labour councillors put in questions or organise public questions or petitions (which are in the first part of the agenda) – and they then put in their own motions (which are last on the agenda) on whatever the subjects of the questions or petitions are. When the Council meeting reaches the question or petition, a Labour councillor will then move that the related motion be discussed immediately. Labour’s inbuilt majority ensures the Council meeting will agree to move the motion up the agenda. By the time all the Labour motions have been taken, it is time for the meeting to finish.  If any opposition party councillor suggests that the meeting be extended so that one of their motions can be debated, Labour’s majority will vote the proposal down.

This was the fate of the motion tabled by Councillors Shahed Ali and Oliur Rahman. As the motion was not debated, all the questions it raises have not been answered.

In the meantime, the community must be really astonished.  If Mayor Lutfur Rahman had handed out the best part of £1 million without explaining the basis for doing so, Labour would have been up in arms – why are they happy with what John Biggs is doing here? Several long established community organisations which provide vital services lost out in this year’s grants round. Perhaps they should all ask the Council to give them a loan – in the expectation they won’t need to pay it back.

John Biggs has escaped having to answer these questions this month, but they are not going to go away.

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