Eight things we learned from Wirral's full council meeting

The ruling Labour party and opposition Conservative and Lib Dem groups stated their staunch opposition to the UK Government’s cuts to the force – said to be the worst in the whole country.

Tributes were also paid to both Conservative Cllr John Hale and Labour's Cllr Ann McLachlan – the civic mayor – who both recently announced they would stand down from their roles, with decades of experience between them.

That was as well as a number of other important issues raised at the meeting – including worries over scrambler bike anti-social behaviour and another effort to abolish the Wirral View newspaper.

Here are eight things we learnt at the meeting, which took place at Wallasey Town Hall.

1) All party groups – including the Tories – are firmly against UK Government cuts to the fire service

This came as part of a notice of motion urging the UK Government to end budget cuts to the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS), as well as fund a 'real increase' in pay.

Chief fire officer Dan Stephens addressed council on Monday evening, telling them: "The service has had to deal with significant financial challenges since 2004 – the most severe cuts to any service in the country."

He said on New Year's Eve, as the service dealt with the huge fire at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, engines from other areas in Lancashire and Cheshire were called to cover Merseyside.

He added: "During any large incident we are not just at the incident itself but also needing to maintain emergency cover across Merseyside.

"These incidents do not stop occurring elsewhere just because we are dealing with one major incident".

In terms of the impact of cuts to MFRS, Wirral council's motion said in the decade between 2010 and 2020, there will have been a 48% cut in the number of fire engines used by the force – from 42 to 22.

The number of fire fighters will have reduced by 37% from 927 to 580 – and support and control staff by 34% – from 507 to 309.

All three of the council's main parties supported the motion.

Labour Cllr Brian Kelly, who originally proposed it, said: "I wish to pay tribute to the leadership of Merseyside Fire and Rescue.

"They have the arduous task of overseeing the hardest cuts in the country imposed by the Conservative government."

Conservative Cllr Leslie Rennie said the service had been the "victim of its own success" due to its efficiency amid years of government cuts.

She added: "When everybody else is running away from an incident they are running towards it – they are the one group of people who all emergency services wait to arrive at the scene.

"We cannot cut them any further.

"We will continue to make that point to any government that will listen to me."

Lib Dem Cllr Chris Carubia added: "The fire service is always prepared to respond.

"We need them now more than ever before."

2. Council leader Phil Davies was asked about his recent trip to New York

The Labour politician assured the opposition the council "did not foot the bill" for the trip, reportedly attended by leaders and officers from 10 cities around the world.

He said the it was run by the Bloomberg Harvard foundation, and was "aimed at the important ability of leaders to address many issues".

He added: "[It included] things like how do we achieve inclusive growth, how do we make sure local people benefit from investment and job creation, and making sure as many young people are school-ready as possible.

"It's an ongoing program of sharing good practice between those ten cities.

"I felt it was a very intensive but useful four days of my time."

3. Tributes were paid to two long-standing members for whom this would be their last time as a serving member at a full council meeting.

Cllr John Hale, Wirral's longest-serving, announced last week he would step down after 43 years in charge.

Having been elected in 1975, Cllr Hale took on various posts including Conservative group leader, council leader and a host of cabinet positions.

Current Conservative group leader Ian Lewis said of Cllr Hale: "This is the end of an era for Wirral’s politics.

"John has been a remarkable public servant for more than 40 years."

Leader Cllr Phil Davies said: "John has been a dedicated public servant.

"He has worked tirelessly to represent his constituents for over 40 years, and has contributed a great deal to Wirral."

Also announcing she would not run for re-election this May after 18 years was civic mayor Cllr Ann McLachlan.

Paying tribute, leader Cllr Davies said: "You've been my colleague for 18 years, and you've done a fantastic job.

"I'd also like to put on record my appreciation for a fantastic year of service as mayor."

4. The borough is short of a dozen school crossing patrol wardens

Heswall Cllr Les Rowlands asked Cllr Stuart Whittingham, cabinet member for highways and transport, what was being done to fill the 12 vacancies for school crossing patrol wardens.

His response was: "These roles are difficult to recruit. They are not financially attractive positions anymore, however we are trying to recruit these posts."

5. Scrambler bikes are still a big issue in Wirral

This concern was actually brought up twice at the meeting on Monday, with it revealed that while anti-social behaviour in the borough is down by 11% – the lowest for 10 years – there are still several hotspots for scrambler bikes.

Cllr Ian Lewis asked deputy leader Cllr George Davies to arrange a meeting to discuss the problem with local police, which the Labour politician agreed to.

6. The Lib Dems don't think the council is being scrutinized enough

In response to a Lib Dem amendment to next year’s council calendar calling for more meetings, deputy leader Cllr George Davies said: "We do not believe there are insufficient opportunities [for the cabinet to be scrutinized].

"We just had a long session of questions we didn’t even fill out. There is ample time.

"We have other series of mechanisms like call-ins, members' questions and ample other opportunities.

"I think mechanisms are already there within scrutiny to ensure all cabinet members are properly held to account."

Lib Dem leader Cllr Phil Gilchrist said: "Just because it worked well tonight and we got expanded time and members felt satisfied they got answers, it is only a few weeks since this council met last [for budget earlier this month] – many of the issues would have been raised then.

"I ask members to look at the calendar and think about that long gap across summer.

"There are developments in the borough that might take place that require more consideration from council.

"We need more time at council meetings to pursue these issues."

Council voted against the amendment.

7. Efforts continue to abolish the controversial Wirral View newspaper

This familiar issue was brought up again by the Conservatives, with Cllr Lesley Rennie proposing a motion to scrap the “waste of money” Wirral View paper.

Cabinet member for localism and engagement Cllr Matthew Patrick maintained it was a "sensible spending of money", and that in the past, more has been spent communicating with residents than is done now.

He added: "The opportunity to engage with residents at a lower price is one we need to take.

"In terms of difficulties with distribution, anybody who has ideas about how to increase those rates – I'd be happy to hear from them."

8. There are concerns over Labour NEC interference in Wirral council

A notice of motion proposed by Conservative Cllr David Burgess Joyce said members were concerned the leader was "unduly influenced" in his decision-making, directly impacting on the communities he serves.

He told the meeting his party was aware of a letter by Labour council leaders to party headquarters detailing concerns about the National Executive Committee's interference in local decisions.

He said: "What worries me is people in this place are subject to external influences.

"I would not want a Conservative central office to give opinions on what happens in Wirral.

"External influence is something we should rally against.”

Cllr Davies said he read the motion with "bemusement", adding: "The information and factors guiding me and urging me to get up in the morning have not changed.

"They are serving people of Wirral and making sure people get best possible services.

"Is this the best the Tories can do?

"It's their number one motion, and it's a piece of mischief.

"We should treat this motion with the contempt it deserves and vote against."