Just when you think the Steering Group can’t become any more farcical, comes this; The application process for a new chair had to be extended because NO-ONE besides MCFly applied. And the panel that selected the new chair, of a group that is supposed to be completely independent of the Council consisted of three people – one of whom is… the City Council’s Executive Member for the Environment.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request (1) (following three unanswered emails), the city council this morning revealed the startling truth.  Having run run the applications process for the Steering Group chair (the emails to which applicants sent in was @manchester.gov.uk, and the person responding a council bureaucrat) they finally revealed many applications they’d received (besides the slightly tongue-in-cheek one from MCFly) before the original deadline.
None.

How many actual applications were received by the extended deadline (besides the aforementioned application from MCFly).
Er, two. (And this for a job which, after four years, should be incredibly high profile and prestigious. No-one wants it. What does that tell you about how things have gone?)

What likelihood is there that either the Council, or the new chair will respond to two simple questions –

• if the new chair was so keen on the having the job, how come he (or, just possibly, “she”), didn’t apply for it before the original deadline?
• what arm-twisting happened to get someone, anyone, to agree to take on the poison chalice?

None

How many blog posts – besides a vastly inaccurate one denying that elections to the Steering Group had been promised, when they absolutely had – have gone up on the official manchesterclimate.con website in the last six months?
None.

How many meetings(2) that are open to the public has the Steering Group held in the four years of its existence?
None

How many people with two brain cells to rub together think that the chair of a group that has – in part – a “watchdog” function over climate action in this city should be selected by at three person panel that includes the City Council’s the Executive Member for the Environment?

That last question is rhetorical.  Rather like the Steering Group itself.

Marc Hudson
mcmonthly@gmail.com

Footnotes
(1) The announcement from Manchester City Council that they would supply answers despite not conceding the relevance of the Freedom of Information Act is a strong contender for 2013’s “most feeble attempt to claim the high moral ground” award.
If the council were so keen to be transparent, why didn’t it reply to the first three emails we sent? Interesting that it only sat up and took notice when we used the FOIA.
Also, if the Council were so keen on transparency, how come other questions sent by email only get answers when followed up with phone calls?
And other questions STILL haven’t been answered because we haven’t (yet) used the FOIA?

(2) Not counting the “lets-play-with-plasticine” efforts cobbled together at the last minute and attended by many many people in suits and not so many non-business types at all.