Dear Mr. Akin Alabi,
I am afraid that I have to inform you that I believe Bexley Council has been
breaking the law.
Today at 1:10 p.m. I came to the Civic Centre and asked to look at the Council’s
Constitution which as per the Local Government Act 2000, Section 37, Paragraph 2
should have been available for me to inspect.
The very helpful staff in the Contact Centre tried to bring up an on-line
version but I informed them that I knew it was unavailable and has been for
several weeks now. In lieu of this they put me through on the internal telephone
to a Committee Officer (Sandra Baxter) and she informed me that the only printed
copy available was not up to date and she saw little point in me viewing it. As
I was not permitted to view the document and it was acknowledged that it was not
up to date anyway I would like to highlight that this is totally contrary to the
aforementioned legislation and hence my accusation that Bexley Council is in
breach of its duties under this legislation.
I then asked to be put on to the Monitoring Officer to apprise you of this state
of affairs at the Council but was informed that you were currently on leave. I
asked to be put through to your deputy but was informed that there was no such individual.
1) Please can I be told why there is apparently nobody who acts as a Monitoring
Officer in your absence, and why this is deemed an appropriate state of affairs
by Bexley Council?
Eventually I was put through to a Legal Team Manager, Lynn Tyler who admitted
that this was not really her field and that I should write to you to let you
know of my concerns and you would deal with it on your return. This seemed a
very strange course of action to me as I had highlighted the fact that her
employer was breaking the law and that surely she should do something to
investigate the matter immediately.
2 )Please can I be told what the Bexley Council procedures are when a member of
the public makes an allegation of unlawful activity? I would also be grateful if
you could supply me with the evidence that Lynn Tyler has indeed correctly
followed those procedures.
Lynn Tyler then acknowledged that she would talk to Kevin Fox about the matter
and assured me she would pass on my request that he update me this afternoon.
I am sending this missive after 5 p.m. and Mr. Fox has still not had the courtesy
to contact me and I would like to complain about his failure to act
professionally here and keep me informed or updated of the state of affairs in
this very serious matter as I specifically requested. I also feel he has brought
the Council into disrepute as he is not immediately condemning the unlawful
behaviour that I have highlighted at Bexley Council and this could even be
grounds for gross misconduct if it transpires he has chosen to ignore the issue,
as I must confess has been my experience with this officer in the past.
I am making a serious accusation of law breaking by Bexley Council and as such
3) I would like a full and frank investigation into the matter of the identified
law breaking above and all of my highlighted questions answered in full.
4) In addition to a full and frank acceptance of the law breaking I would like
to be told who permitted this state of affairs to come about, and what will be
done to ensure that the matter cannot arise again at Bexley Council.
5) I would also like to be informed of the result of any disciplinary action
against identified individuals in relation to this law breaking by Bexley
Council. (I am not interested in any personal details merely what sanctions, and
the number thereof - if any - that have or will be applied.)
Many thanks in anticipation of your dealing with this matter as per Bexley
Council’s complaints procedure.
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas