Cornwall's troubles laid bare
New boss Kevin Lavery called an extraordinary meeting for councillors in which he laid out a series of damning reports and issues that have "tarnished the image" of the council, with the Scottish band's 1999 Top 10 hit playing in the background.
Mr Lavery revealed that the new unitary authority, to be introduced on April 1, was in danger of Government intervention. District and county councillors watched with surprise as Mr Lavery's presentational DVD sent out a clear message – with the soft rock song as a backing track.
The new chief executive, who took over in November on a £200,000 annual salary, is confident that the unitary authority will deliver the necessary solutions.
The vigour of Mr Lavery's approach and his recognition of problems faced by the council struck a chord with councillors disenchanted with the new authority.
The chief executive warned councillors at yesterday's County Hall meeting before the presentation: "There are going to be frank views on the table. We need to face up to challenges in an honest way."
Mr Lavery said in his presentation that the transition process to the unitary authority is trying to do too much and moving too slowly.
He recognised that the current council had a poor public image that had been tarnished by the handling of events ranging from the Penhallow Hotel fire to the forced closure of Newquay Airport.
The controversial logo for the new authority got a special mention as it was featured in the presentation along with a picture of boxing promoter Don King, to whose hairstyle it has been compared.
Mr Lavery said of the logo: "It's clearly been pretty unpopular with large amounts of the public.
"We never have enough money to meet all demands so you have to ask yourself if the new logo is that big an issue and that's why I'm asking the Implementation Executive to reconsider."
The Implementation Executive, made up of 24 district and county councillors, is overseeing the transition to the unitary authority and could throw out the new logo design at its meeting tomorrow.
With regard to the latest Audit Commission assessment of Cornwall County Council, which is due next month, Mr Lavery said: "I'm not expecting good news." He also referred to disappointing assessments from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, Ofsted and the Fire and Rescue Authority report by the Audit Commission.
He said: "I'm not saying we are in crisis but there are some dangerous signs. If we don't address them, we could end up on a slippery slope and if we didn't get off that, we could end up with intervention."
After yesterday's briefing, the man who has led Cornwall County Council for the last four years told the Western Morning News that he and his party were not to blame for the current situation.
Liberal Democrat David Whalley said: "What Kevin Lavery has done is highlight the things we have known for a long time.
"Cornwall County Council is a traditional council like many others and has been resistant to change. The blame that I would accept is not saying publicly what I have known privately of the difficulties of changing Cornwall County Council."
Councillors leaving the meeting yesterday expressed a general feeling of hope after having the authority's shortcomings laid bare. Pam Lyne, independent councillor for Meneage and South Helston, said: "I feel that he has caught the mood of the people of Cornwall."
Restormel borough councillor Pat Harvey said: "I thought what he said was great. He has shown that he understands our problems and our culture."
Independent county councillor Mark Kaczmarek said: "I've had more to do with Kevin Lavery in his short time here than I had to do with the previous chief executive in two years, so that's a good start."
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What do you think would be an appropriate song to play at a Cornwall County Council meeting? Fill out the comment box below with your suggestion.
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