A Wilcox

[steveL]

Haven't heard any confirmation of this so maybe we're all being a little premature. A councillor is a councillor until Stubbs gets a letter to say otherwise - and apparently there's no sign of that yet.

[Kitchnstauff]

All good responses, while its on my mind! and many others i would think? where is she getting all this money from to pay Peninsula Business Services for all the work they are doing, or lack of it! surley its not from Connected Care Monies?? that expense won't be in the BID!! a bit shady

[brassed off monkey]

I think i'm right in saying MRA has averaged about £240,000 per year in wages over recent years. It would be interesting if anyone could get their hands on a breakdown of who got what each year. Presumably not much of that £240k was going to the cleaner or any general dogsbodies.

I did hear a whisper that AW was on around the £40K mark.

So much for Leadership from The Mayor ? as trustees S Akers Bullsh*ter & P Beck should have convened a board meeting & suspended Wilcox for gross industrial misconduct, & she should not have been allowed any access to MRA.

HBC should have suspended any further financial aid to MRA , the fact they have allowed a 2 month period of grace to "Sort Out" the financial problems is an act of sheer stupidity, Its  bit like the Fire Brigade allowing the arsonist to Hide The Matches.

[steveL]

Brown sword, you owe me a new laptop, when I read the words "Allan Barclay" I spat my coffee all over my computer laughing.

He's an imbecile. If his letter writing to The Mail is anything to go by, personally, i'd prefer Wilcox to stay. 

Between them, the Akers-Belchers will be the death of Labour in Hartlepool. Which is some accomplishment.

Crack on dear leader. 

I've got a laptop for sale to anyone interested 

[Kitchnstauff]

Well said "Brassedoff" but on a more positive note I hear another rat has left the sinking ship, heard on the grapevine Paul Beck has just resigned from the board of MRA not many left now. just have to get rid of the weeble and they'll all fall down. 

[steveL]

no....you can tell because there's no DDOS software on it

[steveL]

Finally - confirmation that she's resigning as a councillor. It looks like mk1 is going through a Nostradamus phase....

HBC has really compromised itself over this....Stubbs has a lot to answer for....

[brassed off monkey]

This should be the first of "The Mob" to go, the 2 members of the board of Trustees can`t be far behind, thats if they have a conscience of course ?

But the endemic problems with HBC are more deeply entrenched than just getting rid of Wilcox from the council, she should at the very least have been suspended from MRA pending a thorough investigation about where the money has gone, she should not be allowed anywhere near the place.

The Connection between MRA & Who Cares N/E is unequivical & serious questions should be asked about those who allowed hundreds of thousands of pounds of ratepayers money to be given to 2 people branded by a Judge as either dishonest or incompetent.

Questions need to be answered by "The Dear Leader & His Consort" about their connections to those organisations, as does Cllr G Hall (aka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UexxG4RntfU) & why their sudden resignations by the "Dynamic Duo" ? are they attempting to avoid the inevitable Sh*t Storm that is bound to come.

Somewhere within HBC there has to be someone with the "Gonads" to stand up & to put a stop to what has been going on.

The most damaging thing is that "ALL" grant funded organisations could well be tarred with the same brush as MRA & WC(N/E).

The only way to make sure everything is Kosher & above Board, is to call the Police Fraud Squad In to Investigate the matter.

No Audit for 25 Years............ you couldn`t make it up.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Still in denial, Angie? Pass the violins (and a bucket in which to throw up) ...

The following appeared briefly in the online Mail, but the link subsequently failed - their new website is distinctly erratic at times (or maybe this was just published version number one)!

''AN under-fire councillor has resigned from her position on Hartlepool Borough Council – but has vowed to fight on as manager of a crisis-hit charity at the centre of a pay scandal.

Angie Wilcox has handed in her notice on the back of two recent employment tribunal cases involving the charity which she manages, Manor Residents' Association, failing to pay national minimum wage.

But the former Labour councillor for the Manor House ward has refused to apologise over the pay scandal and insists she has "at no time done anything wrong or untoward".

That is despite two employment judges ordering the association to pay thousands out to former and current staff members.

One employment judge, Andrew Buchanan even labelled Ms Wilcox "dishonest" and said he was insulted by her attempt to falsely show Manor Residents' Association had responded to legal proceedings brought by one of the claimants.

In her letter to Peter Devlin, the council's chief solicitor, Ms Wilcox said: "Following recent events and a discussion with the leader of the council it is with deep regret I tender my resignation as a councillor of Manor House ward."

No date has yet been set for the by-election.

Ms Wilcox's resignation comes after Manor Residents' Association was last week ordered to pay almost £4,000 to a second worker, Carl Williams, who wasn't paid the national minimum wage.

Mr Williams, 25, who is still employed by the charity, had worked for 16-months for as little as £4.42 an hour and also paid tax and national insurance deductions that the HMRC had no record of.

In April, the Wynyard Road-based organisation was ordered to pay almost £9,000 to former cleaner Lynda Gooding who was also paid under the national minimum wage.

Despite two separate rulings, Ms Wilcox, in her resignation letter, said: "I remain steadfast in my view that I have at no time done anything wrong or untoward but it is difficult to challenge those who have little regard for truth and honesty.

"Whilst I have been silent on what were previously 'confidential' matters I must defend Manor Residents' as they were and remain a fair and very loyal employer.

"Some of those alleging offences by Manor Residents have such short memories and would remind them of our duty of care when we provided flexible working to said employees due to home life stress they were suffering whilst paying full-time salary.

"Another of those alleging wrong doing were taken into my very own home at a time their own family made them homeless.

"I challenge anyone to claim these are the actions of an uncaring employee. It is now for them to live with their own consciences.

"At no time was anyone paid less than minimum wage and contracts were duly in place, which both parties failed to produce and claimed they were lost."

Ms Wilcox added: "I shall now be able to focus my energies within the community and restoring the reputation of Manors Residents' Association.

"The whole catalogue of events has had a detrimental effect on my family and those I hold dear and I cannot allow this to continue."

Last week, Labour councillor and town mayor Stephen Akers-Belcher resigned from the association's board over concerns about the "significant" lack of information and transparency around recent employment tribunal cases.

A council spokesman said: "We can confirm that Angie Wilcox has stood down as a councillor for the Manor House ward.

"A date has not yet been set for a by-election."

My favourite bit of irony reads 'Despite two separate rulings, Ms Wilcox, in her resignation letter, said: "I remain steadfast in my view that I have at no time done anything wrong or untoward but it is difficult to challenge those who have little regard for truth and honesty.'

[testing times]

Just as well you copied it, Lucy. The link to the story no longer works. It must have slipped through the net before CAB sanctioned it. 

[fred c]

So she has wrapped in the £5,700 job & kept the £40,000 K post...... nice work if you can get it.

Just what has gone on with this lot, what part have the Trustees had in all of this, they should have called a board meeting & suspended Wilcox pending an Investigation, HBC should have ceased any funding Immediately pending a forensic Audit.......... Only then would we find out what has been going on.

Another re-dacted report, another Phoenix Centre cover up ? what else can the ratepayers expect

[steveL]

"Despite two separate rulings, Ms Wilcox, in her resignation letter, said: "I remain steadfast in my view that I have at no time done anything wrong or untoward but it is difficult to challenge those who have little regard for truth and honesty."

Wow - I had no idea Judges were that bad.......

[mk1]

Nice to see the mail reflecting the views of the people of the town in the actual paper version again. There must have been 50 comments on their website last week slamming Wilcox and MRA and perhaps ONE in her defence by cuddles99... Page 8 of today's mail in the 'your views online bit' prints one comment by... cuddles99.

Give it up Joy, this one isn't going to go away.

The Akers-Belchers could pull off an even more remarkable double than being the first civil partners to govern a town.

Keep this farce up any longer and they'll be the first councillors to kill off the local Labour Party AND the local newspaper in one go.

I think it was a deliberate ploy. They need to generate 'hits' and 'comments' and thus in the traditon of Mrs Murton they manufacture  a 'heated debate'. They need  readers to notice and  reply.
Smacks of desperation if you ask me.

[Fight4whatsright]

Even Angies daughter is trying to buy new friends, wanting to buy drinks for people and pay for there nights out and dinners. Sorry but there is values and morals and you don't get respect by buying your friends.
Do what what normal people do and build up friendships.

[rabbit]

I was wondering what had happened to the Mail report on the resignation..

I searched yesterday but didn`t find a link, but here it is today (if it works)

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/under-fire-manor-house-councillor-angie-wilcox-resigns-from-hartlepool-council-1-5835600