Mayor's Charity Donations 'Commercially Sensitive'

[steveL]

Former Mayor Stephen Akers-Belcher's claims of raising £118,000 for charity have always been a bit suspect as has the administration behind the fund raising. For over a year, there have been persistent whispers about a £10,000 donation that never saw the light of day but which was linked in some way to the project to replace the town's street lighting with LED lighting.

Such rumours are inevitable when complete transparency is missing. If there is one time when total transparency is essential then it's when large amounts of cash are swirling around.

The latest episode, which will only add to the Chinese whispers currently circulating, is HBC's refusal of a Freedom of Information request to provide details of how that claimed total of £118,000 was achieved.

HBC is refusing to provide a breakdown of how much money was raised by individual events or from individual or company donations. As a result, anyone who did take part in organising an event or who made a donation has no way of knowing if their contribution made it into that £118,000 total. All such  information has been classified as 'commercially sensitive information' and slapped with the equivalent of being 'pink papered'.

Not the wisest move in the light of the recent NIRAMAX/SENECA arrests and the £27,000 in obligatory 106 money lost to local schools for no clear reason.

[seaton]

This is one of many occurrences where if we had a decent local paper to investigate stuff like this but as we know it won't happen. What is there to hide ifrom a few donations from the public, if I had contributed I woul want know where it went to. Obviously some skull duggery been gong on me thinks.

[fred c]

How & to whom can it be considered to be commercially sensitive, will it affect the income or expenditure of any other business or charity ?

[for fawkes sake]

This is one of many occurrences where if we had a decent local paper to investigate stuff like this but as we know it won't happen. What is there to hide ifrom a few donations from the public, if I had contributed I woul want know where it went to. Obviously some skull duggery been gong on me thinks.

I rather think we are well passed the stage when we should be relying on the local rag to 'investigate' such matters even if that was a realistic possibility. From where I stand, I see Hartlepool Borough Council as a significant node in an elaborate local drug trafficking economy with HBC acting as the chief means to launder the ill-gotten gains through its rotten planning system. One for the attention of a national investigation body if you ask me.

[not4me]

'Commercially Sensitive'.... . I think I've heard it all now. They're not even clever enough to come up with a more plausible excuse to stop the public getting to know what should be freely available information. Bent as a four-penny bit.

[DRiddle]

A very bizarre, although not unsurprising decision, this one.

Personally I think there's been untold damage done to the entire concept of the 'Mayors charities'. I don't doubt for a second some local charities have benefited. Also, not for a second am I suggesting anything illegal or untoward.

However, this refusal to be transparent about it raises questions.

Have local companies contributed significantly via charitable donations, providing venues free of charge, holding events, donating catering services etc?

Have any of the companies or individuals on the 'commercially sensitive' list also tendered for council contracts?

At what point does a company contributing to the local community via a charitable donation through the council, start to 'blur the lines' between that and a situation which could be deemed to potentially influence a separate commercial decision?

As I say, I'm not suggesting anything illegal for one second. But a council is certainly putting itself in a compromising position if it accepts money, even through a charity, from organisations or individuals with whom it has commercial dealings.

The government should introduce a set of principles or something to try and prevent people raising questions about this sort of thing. 

[fred c]

No wonder anyone & everyone thinks councillors are "All At It"........ Of course they aren't, but that common perception is extremely damaging to those who aren't.

I feel sure that whoever made that request will take the refusal as a reason to take it further, as the old saying goes.... if you haven't anything to hide,why keep it a secret..

Only In Hartlepool & Only Under The LabTor Mob

[Land Phil]

You abuse a rule and it makes any other times it is possibly used legitimately look questionable.

[Johnny Bongo]

Perhaps a query to the Charities Commission may have the desired effect.  If the Mayors charity is 'above board' then it will no doubt be registered, therefore the accounts (and possibly donors names?) will be available!
Btw, has anyone actually contacted Eric Pickles/ AN Other, in order to investigate HBC?   Corruption (can anyone think of a better word?) on the scale that we are made aware of daily/ regularly, surely can't be ignored.   

[Land Phil]

The mayors charity work isn't done under the umbrella of a charity organisation is it ?

Maybe it should be to make it accountable.

[seaton]

The mayors charity work isn't done under the umbrella of a charity organisation is it ?

Maybe it should be to make it accountable.

Exactly, is a it a Registered Charity ? If it was I assume you could contact the Association and they would provide the info, I don't think it's a Charity, its a fund which forwards the money to a Charity ?

[steveL]

For Info: (This is as far as they are prepared to go)

[Alnwickist]

HUGE hole in those figures,money is missing full stop. Needs Police to investigate,but from out of area.

[Tee_Ess_25er]

For Info: (This is as far as they are prepared to go)

Sorry but the first year total is exactly 40K.  I know a total like that is remotely possible but even that stinks of made up numbers.

[steveL]

Thinking about it, that first year would have been under Drummond's tenure and when you look at years 2 and 3, the average suggests that SAB was no more or less successful at raising money than Drummond.