Zero residents concerns logged by a Sandwell councillor in nearly a year
A councillor in Sandwell raised ZERO residents’ concerns last year, the Express & Star can reveal.
Mohinder Singh Tagger, of West Bromwich Central, logged no queries between May 2016 and April this year.
It comes after the Labour councillor put forward just one piece of council casework in the previous 12 months.
Sue Crumpton, of Old Warley, is also a councillor who had submitted no queries, saying that she prefers to speak with neighbourhood officers directly.
New figures revealed under a Freedom of Information request showed a huge disparity in the amount of work carried out by councillors – with cabinet member for education the busiest with more than 1,000 pieces of casework done.
However, Sandwell Council bosses say there are a number of ways councillors can log concerns.
Council leader, Steve Eling, said a number of members had disputed the figures in relation to the work they carry out. He explained: “It depends where it has been logged and these figures do not represent the amount of work individual members do.
There is not a single system for them to log concerns on as they may be raising matters directly with housing officers or others, for instance. It is up to each individual member in terms of what they do and where they raise their casework.” The results, which have now been taken out of the public domain, have revealed huge variations among councillors in Sandwell.
Councillor Simon Hackett, who represents the Friar Park ward, was among those who raised the highest number of concerns between May 2016 and April 2017. He scored the highest with 1,086 queries logged, followed by Councillor Eling with 423 and Councillor Paul Moore, of Hateley Heath, with 346. Councillor Tagger was contacted by the Express & Star but made no comment on the FOI’s findings. Councillor Sue Crumpton said: “It’s a bit more personal when you speak to neighbourhood officers directly instead of logging it into a large system where it can get forgotten about.”
“I feel it is quicker that way too.”
Councillor Trevor Crumpton, who had logged 54 queries, added: “We are constantly out doing work in our ward but it is about having that personal touch. I prefer to be old school in my approach and speak to residents and then officers directly.
“There are lots of different ways we can raise concerns.”
