Verdict on a year of change
PAUL Scriven gets stopped in the street, on the bus and in the gym. As leader of Sheffield City Council he is a ready target for an opinion.
And he says he does not mind at all. After all, one of the Liberal Democrats' most familiar cries since taking control from Labour last May is that they are "a listening council".
And the leader does not shy away from putting himself in the firing line. "I'm visible. People know who I am," he says.
The story of the first year of the Liberal Democrats' regime in Sheffield is one of a party committed to changing the culture at the Town Hall on a whole range of issues – becoming more business-friendly, tackling waste and bureaucracy, cleaning up streets, parks and rivers…
They have proudly declared the city's lowest-ever council tax rise – 1.95% – as part of a pledge to freeze the tax within three years.
Over the 12 months Coun Scriven has led vigorously from the front, a high profile and controversial figure, always ready for a political scrap and with a juicy comment to help get the message across.
From the start the Lib Dems made it clear they were going to block plans to relocate St Luke's Hospice to Norton Nurseries. Later every piece of armament was rolled out in the campaign to save 16 post offices facing closure.
The snappily-titled Driving Me Crazy campaign mined discontent over Sheffield's traffic by asking motorists to come up with ideas for road changes.
Even the leader's critics accept that he is an astute politician with a well-honed ability to gauge and tap into public opinion – a politician who has his sights on winning the Sheffield Central constituency at the next general election.
But his robust, sometimes abrasive, approach also attracts condemnation. "I think his personal style is causing a lot of discomfort, both within his group and among officers," says one Labour member.
"He is very effective on issues of short-term political gain, using issues ruthlessly to his advantage. But I think in the long term some of the rhetoric will be exposed and some decisions will come back to haunt him. There is a lot of sound and fury but it does not signify much."
Coun Scriven, a 43-year-old former NHS senior manager, responds with a willingness to be judged on what the new administration achieves.
"Sometimes you have to take a forceful role and I'll continue to do that."
So what have the Lib Dems done for Sheffield? They have certainly been busy and, at the end of the first year, have produced a list of more than 50 decisions, ranging from multi-million pound strategies to community projects.
It wasn't long before they were deciding to refund drivers fined for going through the Hillsborough bus and tram gates and stopping a proposed wind farm at Westwood Country Park at High Green.
They have provided free green waste collections at the kerbside, appointed an extra 15 officers to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour, planted 5,000 trees and given parents a ballot on school changes.
The list extends to naming a road Derek Dooley Way, providing extra security for Bishops House in Meersbrook Park and giving a free book to every child starting school.
It also includes "securing 674m of Government funding to improve Sheffield's streets over the next 25 years from 2011" – which infuriates Labour because the deal was virtually wrapped up under their period of office.
Labour also feels frustrated that the Lib Dems were able to reap benefits from the relatively strong financial position they say they had been built up at the Town Hall – a claim dismissed by Coun Scriven, who says much of Labour's finances amounted to "plugging holes here and there without a long-term strategy".
He says the Lib Dems' main achievement over the first year has been to get the council working for the whole city, not for "favoured areas", and to drop the hectoring. "Beforehand the council made up its mind without listening.
"On the whole, I think it's been a good year in terms of trying to deal with some of the major issues, staying strategic and living up to the values that people elected us for."
At the same time Coun Scriven says it has been hard to change the culture at the Town Hall. "I can't under-estimate the struggle we have had at times to get our message across to everybody within the organisation. Some members of staff have been liberated, others have struggled."
The switch in political power has been augmented by a shake-up in senior management. Chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake, whom the Lib Dems claimed exercised too much influence, had already departed by the time Labour was ousted.
He has been replaced by John Mothersole, promoted from executive director of development, environment and leisure to work with a radically different senior management structure.
One of the Lib Dem pledges was to significantly trim the Town Hall hierarchy. They have since moved from reducing the number of staff on more than 50,000 to cutting senior management costs by 10% over the next year.
The commitment to change has not always run smoothly. Coun Scriven says that at times the pace "has frustrated me beyond belief".
An example is the delay in sorting out legal arrangements so that empty shops in the city centre can be taken over temporarily by local traders and craftspeople.
But he believes there has been progress in a number of crucial areas. "I think the business community is more likely to accept we are trying much harder to make the council and the city more business-friendly. Planning is more speedy and responsive."
The charge levied against the Lib Dems is that their populist approach may work fine in opposition but it can stall when faced with difficult decisions in power. Critics say they are all too willing to blame officers when things don't go according to plan and that there is ready tendency to deter decisions when the going gets tough, such as over the future of the Wicker bus gate.
Coun Scriven says decisions are deferred "to make sure consultations take place and everything is weighed up so we make the right decisions. We want to get balance right."
With no council elections this month, the Lib Dems have at least another year to get that balance right – and there are more fundamental changes around the corner.
Community assemblies – a determined attempt to shift power to the grass roots – are to be rolled out, giving local people a much stronger voice on matters such as parks, street cleaning and libraries. Community justice panels, in which victims have a say in the punishment of offenders, are also around the corner.
It's radical fare to follow a year in which the Lib Dems have been quick to grasp nettles and push through change.
Yet Labour says they have been found wanting on numerous issues.
Paul Blomfield, who chairs Sheffield District Labour Party and will contest the Central constituency with Paul Scriven, says: "They were effective in opposition but have found it hard now they're in power and having to take decisions.
"They raised expectations on issues like post offices, only to let people down. They've missed opportunities, such as the chance to introduce free swimming for the young and elderly. Beneath the bold pledges there's not been much substance."
And there are signs that the going is starting to get tougher. The pay and regrading review for council staff – started by Labour – which is threatening to cut the pay of some of the lowest paid workers is severely testing the negotiating skills and political acumen of the Lib Dem council.
Moreover, all the indications are that local government finances are to be subjected to the tightest of squeezes because of the recession.
How can that be squared with a commitment to a zero council tax rise?
For the moment, though, Coun Scriven is satisfied with the way things have started and how he has responded personally.
The year has seen him do everything from steering a 465m budget to calling bingo numbers at a pensioners' lunch club in Gleadless, from meeting the Consul-General for China to singing Mamma Mia! at a Sheffield Night of Honour.
"I have been working some extremely long hours, getting to the gym for 6.30am and not getting home until 11pm or midnight. I don't complain. It's been hard and it's been tiring but it's always inspirational and I love it. How many people can wake up in the morning with the privilege of leading the city?"
For those people who like to bend the council leader's ear when they spot him in the street or on the bus, there will be plenty to talk about over the next 12 months.
"We are still fizzing with enthusiasm and ideas to improve this city. We are still as fresh as when we took control."
What do you think? Add your comments below.
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